The First Born Child
by L.A.H.H
Summary: When Lucius Malfoy was arrested, it was Arthur Weasley's job to search his home. Who he found shocked him and much of the wizarding world to its core. Set in Half-Blood Prince, mostly canon. COMPLETE
1. Part 1: The First Born Child

**Hello! Thank you for clicking onto this story. Please read and review it!**

**Set: During Half-Blood Prince. **

**Plot Teaser: When Lucius Malfoy was arrested, it was Arthur Weasley's job to search his home. What he found shocked him and much of the wizarding world to its core.**

**Disclaimer: I am not blonde. I am not rich. I am not from Glocoustershire (in fact, I can't spell Gloucestershire). I do not have an OBE - Who am I? I'm not J.K. Rowling for a start, so I do not own Harry Potter. Or Hogwarts, or many other characters and settings in this story. However, my OC belongs to me (hence the title, OC).**

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The girl stood at the back of the queue, nervous beyond belief. In front of her, first-year after first-year had their names called and hurried off to try on the Hat. They had had no idea of what test they would be undertaking, and her fears had been alleviated for a few moments by the humour in their blind terror. Some of their wild speculations were ridiculous – defeating a Dementor, Boggart or other magical creature seemed the favourite opinion.

She held her tongue on this subject, knowing this was part of the necessary process, and why all alumni and current students of Hogwarts swore to keep their silence to younger siblings and future children about the Sorting. Of course, she had been told by her brother, as he had not believed she would ever attend Hogwarts, so had seen no harm in confiding in her.

"Zendell, Rebecca."

Then she was the only one left. In the Great Hall, people were turning their attention from the Sorting, expecting it to be over, expecting all the surprises to be revealed. But McGonagall had one more name to call.

"Malfoy, Evelna"

For several moments, there was stunned silence. Then, as Eva stepped out from the wings, muttering, murmuring and whispering broke out like a wave, rising in a crescendo that thankfully ended when she pulled the Hat over her ears.

Seconds, then minutes passed. Someone could be heard to whisper,

"She's a Malfoy, so what's taking the Hat so long? Everyone knows where she'll end up."

Students glanced at the teachers, who looked less than perturbed. They had clearly been warned about this, but from the looks of things none of the students had. Except Draco Malfoy. He didn't look surprised, more… relieved. Around him, people were leaning in, hissing questions, but he waved them away, staring intently at the Hat which was currently enclosing his relative.

When the rip which served as a mouth opened, the whole Hall took an intake of breath. And the Hat cried:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Stunned silence reverberated. The girl stood and, stumbling slightly, stepped down from the stage, though she at least had the presence of mind to leave the hat behind. She seemed unaffected by the lack of applause, or the whispers and stares that followed her.

"What kind of Malfoy would be placed in Gryffindor?"

"Is she a Malfoy?"

"She doesn't look like one."

This last comment was at least true. Evelna didn't have the trademark looks of a Malfoy. She was neither tall, nor slim. Her hair was short, barely past her shoulders and fell in springy black curls.

Though outwardly she seemed confident, inside Evelna was shaking. She searched frantically for a place to sit on the Gryffindor table.

_Why Gryffindor? _She thought desperately. _Could there _be_ a house with more people who will hate me?_

The occupants of seats next to the empty ones glared at her as she passed, silently warning her not to even think about sitting there. Finally she reached one about half-way down the table, where although the nearby inhabitants stared at her, they didn't seem to be trying to do so malevolently. She sat down, silently thanking Merlin that she'd managed to get to a seat before her legs gave out underneath her.

Looking up, she saw her brother watching her from the Slytherin table. She managed a slight eyebrow lift with a wry half-smile, conveying her thoughts just through the look.

_Yes, I'm in Gryffindor. Who'd have thought? And yes, I'm fine._

With facial movements as near-imperceptible as Evelna's, Draco let her know his own opinion.

_Not like you've ever been one for Malfoy tradition. Good to see you though. Thought you might have been taken by the Ministry._

Their 'conversation' was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a boy through the main doors. His face was covered in blood, but he was still recognisable as Harry Potter, The Chosen One, the Boy-Who-Lived etc. A girl two seats along from her gasped.

"Harry!"

Evelna did a double take. She hadn't sat herself actually next to Harry Potter's closest friends, had she? Glancing round, she cursed her own stupidity. What better way to get abused by the Gryffindors than presuming to sit by their leader, in all but name. She'd heard tales enough of complex table politics from Draco that she knew better than to flout it all. But it was too late to move. Even worse, the only empty seat was beside her.

Harry Potter swung into the seat. Evelna tried to catch her brother's eye for some moral support, but he was far too busy showing off to his Slytherins.

_No doubt something to do with Potter's arrival. He hates him so bloody much, it's laughable._

Harry looked in the direction she was looking; seeing Malfoy's actions, he scowled and dropped his gaze. Then lifted it again to look at Evelna.

"Who are you?"

Dead silence resounded around them. Harry blinked.

"What? Stupid question or something?"

"Ah, I'm Eva."

Harry put out his hand to shake. Evelna stared at it for several heartbeats, then slowly lifted her own.

"Harry. Nice to meet you."

Ron frowned. "Was McGonagall wrong then? Is – that – not your name?"

"No, she was right."

Harry still looked confused. "Am I missing something?"

Evelna sighed and explained. "My full name – what McGonagall read out - is Evelna Malfoy. I prefer to be called Eva. Just to stop some rumours before they fully start, this is my first year at Hogwarts – so I haven't been here under Polyjuice Potion or anything else - , but I am entering 5th year."

Harry was silent for a moment. Then-

"You're a Malfoy, as in child of Lucius and Narcissa."

"Much as it would be easier," _and much as I'd like to_, she thought to herself, "I'm not going to deny that. Yes, my father is Lucius Malfoy, the Death-Eater currently incarcerated in Azkaban"_ where long may he stay_"and my mother is Narcissa Malfoy, nee Black. My brother is Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin sat over there." Eva's temper, not the calmest, had been stirred by the stares and whispers and she spoke quite sharply.

Apparently Harry's questions had enabled them all to talk, so they crowded her with questions.

Focusing on one posed by the boy she knew to be Ron Weasley, she replied,

"No, I don't look like a Malfoy. I look more like a Black, apparently." She didn't look at Harry as she said this, knowing all too well his connection with the late heir of that name.

Hermione nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're right. Blue eyes like your mother, but black hair like-"

Vastly relieved the bushy-haired girl had chosen not to finish the sentence, she nodded.

A girl across the table from her, also a Weasley by the look of her hair, stuck out her hand.

"Ginny Weasley. I'm going to be in your year."

Eva knew the others were all watching her. She passed the test that she didn't despise Harry, but this was more important. She knew that her relations in general detested the Weasleys as blood traitors, and any hint that she shared their prejudices would condemn her.

So she took Ginny's hand and shook it.

"Glad to meet you. I owe a lot to your father."

The girl frowned. "How do you know my Dad?"

"He was the one who— well, it's thanks to him that the secret about me was so well kept. Otherwise, the Prophet would have run countless stories on me by now, and any chance of a clean slate would be a mere pipe-dream."

Ron snorted indignantly. "It must have been well-kept. He didn't even tell us, his kids!"

Eva looked at him slightly coldly. "And I'm deeply grateful to him for that."

Harry frowned, a memory sparked. When he had told Mr Weasley that he should go look at Malfoy's house again, he'd said,

"Trust me, Harry, we found a lot at Malfoy's which surprised us, but it's all clean now."

Harry grunted in amusement. He expected it was a _bit_of a surprise, finding another Malfoy child and all.

He came back to the present in time to hear Ginny ask

"Why are you only starting Hogwarts now?"

To Eva's relief, she was saved from answering by the sudden vanishing of the food and Dumbledore's rising to speak. She knew she would have to answer the question eventually, but definitely later rather than sooner.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! I'm glad there are people reading this story. Thank you everyone who has put it on Story Alert and thank you especially to SuzieGeorge, Astoria Malfoy, alphaMilca, AveaJene and Arlath's Daughter.** **Cookies (or strawberries, if you prefer) to you all.**

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As the students left after the Feast, Eva was moved along behind the Gryffindor Trio. She felt awkward anywhere near them, but the crush of students made it impossible to escape it.

Dumbledore had thankfully not said anything about her appearance. It would have been simpler in some ways, to have him explain everything. Yet she didn't know how much she wanted revealed so was grateful for the few days grace while the students worked up the courage to ask her before she explained.

Leaving the Hall, Eva heard a voice calling her name. It was McGonagall. She slid over to her, finding it easier to move through the crowd as it split off into the four House groups.

"Evelna-"

"Please would you call me Eva, Professor?"

"Very well. Eva, as I was saying, you are likely to need a tutor, due to your late entry and other events."

McGonagall gestured to Hermione who stood beside her.

"Miss Granger has kindly assented to act in this capacity. Also, Professor Dumbledore and I thought it best if you did not stay in the fifth year girls' dorm room with Miss Bode and Miss Vance."

Eva winced at the names. She knew both girls were no doubt related to the victims of her father and his allies who bore the same names: Broderick Bode and Emmeline Vance. It was an unlucky coincidence, but also unavoidable. After all, the Dark Lord's victims were innumerable; avoiding them would be an impossibility.

"Therefore I have suggested that yourself and Miss Weasley here," (she waved her hand to Ginny, who was standing next to Hermione), "room together, with Miss Granger."

Eva stared at her. Room with two of her family's bitterest enemies? Was she mad?

"I'll leave you two to show Eva to the Common Room." McGonagall hurried off.

Eva turned to look blankly at the other two.

Hermione took charge. "She told me where the room is. It's just off the Common Room, like the rest of the dorms. I'll show you."

The three of them went silently up to their room. When they got there, Ginny broke what had seemed to the redhead to be an awkward silence by asking Eva which bed she wanted.

She gazed at the other two; they were both watching her expectantly.

"I don't understand!" she cried finally.

"What?" Hermione asked, bewildered. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes! You two. You should hate me, ignore me. Why are you being _nice_ to me?"

There was a moment where no one spoke. Then Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"You're quite….forthright, aren't you?"

Eva leant against the wall, watching the others cautiously. She knew she didn't have the reserve most Malfoys did.

"My upbringing, unlike my brother's, did not include a need for vocal reticence. My emotions are usually well hidden, but I do speak my mind."

Ginny nodded. "Probably why you're in Gryffindor, not Slytherin. Slytherins aren't exactly open books."

"True. But you still haven't answered my question."

Ginny spoke for the both of them.

"You've done nothing to us. Just because your brother and father aren't the nicest of people-"

"Just because my dad's a Death Eater who you recently fought against and arrested, you mean."

"Well, you don't hate us, and like you said, we got your father arrested."

"I didn't really like my father."

"All the more reason for us to like you."

Eva smiled properly for the first time in months. She didn't feel guilty for what her family had done to these people - she wasn't her father, her brother or any other one of her relations, but she hadn't expected them to see it like that.

"I guess. If you don't mind then, I'll take the bed by the window."

"Mind? Only crazy people want the bed by the window! Even magic doesn't stop the cold and wind coming in."

"I don't care." And she didn't. Waking up to have the sun across her face was still such a novelty that she would gladly sacrifice a little warmth. Even when there was no sun, she enjoyed listening to the rain beat against the window panes.

"You're mad," Ginny laughed.

"Probably."

The other two laughed.

Changing into their nightclothes, they continued joking about nothing in particular. Finally, as the yawns overtook the speech, they got into bed. Pulling the drapes around her bed closed, Eva succumbed to sleep.

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	3. Chapter 3

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Eva was stood staring at the window

"Coming to breakfast?" a chirpy Ginny asked.

"Not willingly," Eva muttered to herself, not turning away from the window she was staring out of.

The red-headed girl frowned. "What's wrong?"

"It's been 12 hours since Hogwarts found out about me. That's more than long enough for it to get in the Prophet."

"Don't worry about what the papers say. Everyone knows they're a load of rubbish."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone with half a brain, anyway. Come on."

Arms linked together, the two girls made their way down the stairs and out of the common room. Just as they turned a corner, they came face to face with a blond boy with grey eyes.

"Weasley." He said coldly, before turning his attention to Eva. What happened next surprised Ginny more than a little. With more emotion than she had seen from him in 5 years of school, he stepped forward to hug his sister.

"You okay?" he asked.

Mouth most probably open, Ginny stared in disbelief.

Malfoy turned to her. "Would you mind leaving, not gawping. I prefer not to have spectators-ow!"

Eva had elbowed him. Smiling she turned to her new friend. "Sorry about him. Manners aren't exactly his forte. We do need to chat in private though."

Still in shock, Ginny nodded vaguely and left.

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Down at the Gryffindor table, Ron was chatting to Hermione.

"So how was a night with the Malfoy spawn then?" he smirked.

He was the second male Ginny had seen in 5 minutes get an elbow in the ribs.

"She's not that bad," Hermione defended.

"Yeah," Ginny agreed, slipping into a seat across from them. "You're just prejudiced against her because of her family."

"Can you blame me? They're all a bunch of Death Eaters. Why would she be any different?"

"Having an attitude like that is hardly encouraging her to be different though, is it."

Relinquishing the argument to the two girls, Ron raised his hands in surrender.

"All I'm saying is, if I was you, I'd keep an eye on her."

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Draco stared at Eva.

"I can't believe you're making friends with Granger and Weasley," he groaned.

"Draco, stop being such a prat. You know I love you but I know that that's not even what _you_ believe. At least, not in the darkest recesses of that thing you call a mind. It's just a bloody act-"

"Yeah, well, it becomes less of an act every day."

Eva laughed humourlessly. "And you have the nerve to ask me if I'm okay. You're the one who has the problems."

A dark shadow flitted at the back of his eyes for a second. Eva frowned.

"What's wrong. Has anything happened since I last saw you, back in June or whenever."

"Or whenever?" Draco smirked.

"You try telling what month it bloody is when you're always in the same room, where, though it might have escaped your notice, there isn't a window. I was only pretty sure it was June because you were home."

"I'm relieved you were sent here. I thought it would be the Ministry for sure. I've been out of my mind worrying over you."

"Sorry. I couldn't think of any way to send a message. It's thanks to Arthur Weasley and Dumbledore that I'm here though. Mr Weasley sent a message straight to Dumbledore and he took over, saying I was underage so therefore belonged at Hogwarts. I've been here ever since, while they tested what magic I knew."

Another shadow had appeared in Draco's face at the mention of Dumbledore, but he quickly distracted Eva from it by asking how the magic tests had gone.

"Not bad actually. Charms especially went well. I guess you're not such a bad teacher after all."

"Better than bloody Potter?"

"Well…." Eva teased, and then sighed when she saw his face. "You should get over that Draco. I saw you at the feast. What did you do to him?"

"Nothing he didn't deserve."

She shook her head. "It's not going to do you any good, hating him so much. What did he ever do to you?"

"Well it's more the fact that he exists, than anything else."

She glared at Draco. He glared back. She gave up. Knowing her brother, it would take him the rest of his life to get over his hatred of Harry Potter. She also knew there was little more than injured pride behind it but - well, Malfoys weren't famed for their humility.

Giving him a hug, she turned to leave.

"Look after yourself, Draco."

"I'm not the one surrounded by my enemies. Watch your back."

"I always do."

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	4. Chapter 4

**As promised, this chapter is a bit longer. Sorry I didn't manage to do a pre-holiday update, but I did put this up for you tonight, even though I'm wearing false nails for my prom (did you know that it's incredibly hard to type in false nails?)**

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As Eva entered the Hall and walked towards the Gryffindor table, heads turned and voices whispered. Her heart sank as she saw the flickers of pictures and headlines on the tables.

_Time to find out what they can say about me. _She thought, trying to steel her nerves. _Worst thing is, I'll have to deal with all this again in a few weeks when the _full_ story comes out. This is just a pale shadow of what it'll be like then. _

She saw Ginny ahead of her. The other girl glanced up and waved her over. Despite Hermione's acceptance, she was unsure of her reception from the male members of the Trio. So Eva chose to sit between Ginny and an older black boy, opposite Hermione rather than sitting on the other side flanked by Harry and Ginny and opposite Ron.

Not trusting her voice, Eva held out a hand for the paper. The headline screamed at her. _Ridiculous title, _part of her thought dispassionately._ Couldn't all those_ _'amazing'_ _reporters come up with anything better than some weak alliteration?_ The rest of her was too busy worrying about what the article was going to say.

_**MYSTERY MALFOY MAIDEN AT HOGWARTS!**_

_**Yesterday, students of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry were stunned to see another Malfoy child be Sorted. Not to enter 1**__**st**__** year either, but 5**__**th**__**! Even more shocking, she was Sorted into Gryffindor, the opposite of the Slytherin house that all previous Malfoys have been sorted into.**_

_**The Malfoys have endured a truly unusual year. From being the most respected advisors in the magical community, it was quite a fall for Lucius Malfoy, who was recently arrested for Death Eater involvement and sent to Azkaban. Malfoy Manor was searched. The Malfoys have long been suspected as Death Eaters, due to their Slytherin affiliations.**_

_**Some say this girl is a Death Eater in disguise, sent to spy on the Gryffindors, including the Chosen One himself. Others believe her to be a secret love child of Lucius Malfoy. Yet more say she is not a Malfoy at all. This last opinion could be borne out by her un-Malfoy looks. Black hair, blue eyes – not a Malfoy appearance.**_

_**If she is a Malfoy, her placement in Gryffindor is the biggest revolution since Sirius Black, the recently pardoned, posthumous Order of Merlin receiver. Black was also Sorted into Gryffindor, despite the whole of his family being dyed-in-the-wool Slytherin, an event also covered by your Daily Prophet.**_

_**This Black connection has sparked another theory: that she is the reincarnation of Sirius Black! She has black hair like notorious Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black. But blue eyes like Druella Rosier, her alleged maternal grandmother.**_

_**Whatever the truth, rest assured the Daily Prophet will discover it!**_

She looked up. The girls were watching her with worried faces. "Well, it could be worse. Nothing but a load of rumour, speculation and ridiculous ideas."

Hermione frowned. "But they're rumours which aren't exactly flattering to you. Trust me, I know how it feels. Rita Skeeter wrote a couple of articles about me in our 4th year."

Harry looked surprised. "Rita Skeeter wrote the article? Didn't you… isn't she no longer writing unkind articles about people."

Hermione sighed. "I only told her not to lie. Technically it's not lying. She's just…presenting what some people think. She hasn't backed any of the opinions up."

Ginny snorted. "It's still wrong."

"Yeah, well." Eva looked irritated. "It's what everyone's gonna believe, at least until someone finds out the truth."

"What was all that about Sirius being mentioned in the Daily Prophet?" Harry wondered.

"Well, everyone was more than a bit shocked, not to mention some who were angry that some prejudiced pureblood had been Sorted into Gryffindor. There were quite a few articles about it, until everyone forgot about his last name when he made his own name for himself." Eva hadn't meant to be so forthcoming; her mouth just opened before her brain engaged. It had a habit of doing that, especially at the worst times.

Harry turned to her. "Really?"

"Sure. I bet the library still has the paper cuttings." _Shut up, shut up,_ she mentally cursed.

Thankfully, McGonagall arrived at their section of the table at that moment, handing out timetables.

"Miss Malfoy, Miss Weasley."

The two of them studied their timetables.

They had Charms first, then Potions, Care of Magical Creatures and DADA.

"Not too bad, I guess." Ginny muttered. "Would be better if we didn't have that git Snape for DADA."

As they left the Hall towards their first lessons, Ginny found that she had to ask a question that had been annoying her since breakfast.

"What do you mean, until someone finds out the truth?"

"The truth about my life. There are people who know it, mainly Death-Eaters. One day, one of them will tell their kid and that kid will tell everyone. Or the kids will tell their Death-Eater parents I'm a Gryffindor and they'll decide that embarrassing a Lion is worth betraying the confidences of a fellow Death-Eater."

"And being friends with me and Hermione is only going to speed that up." Ginny realised shrewdly. "After all, what upsets you upsets your friends, so anything that hurts a friend of Harry Potter will make its way straight to the newspapers."

"True. I can only pray that the day comes after people have gotten to know me for who I am a bit better."

Ginny gave her an enquiring look.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Probably not. It's...unusual, but - I don't really have any frame of reference. I promise you, I will tell you before everyone else finds out. Just not yet, okay? I'll know when it's about to come out. Draco has a source and he has promised to warn me so I know not to go to breakfast that day."

Ginny slipped her arm round Eva's shoulders.

"Come on. Even when that day comes, you won't be alone. You'll have me and Hermione and Harry. Malfoy clearly loves you, so you'll have him too, no matter what he thinks of the rest of us."

Eva glanced at Ginny. This was a perfect time to defend her brother, explain why he seemed to hate them all. But she didn't dare. She seemed pretty outspoken, the typical Gryffindor, but her brother had taught her how to be as calculating as the best Slytherin. _Explanations can wait. When I'm surer of our friendship. When she knows me better. Then I can risk it by supporting an enemy._

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	5. Chapter 5

**Wow! Wow! Wow! Thank you all so much. I can't believe the number of reviews I got. When I opened my e-mail I was so happy that I jumped around singing. Thank you to SuzieGeorge, kaelyn, notwolf, Goldengirl2, harrypottertwilightlover92, PrincessSophie21, pstibbons, Boo81393, padsy, gogguli, the-salt-monster, 761622, Arlath's Daughter and Astoria Malfoy.**

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Charms went incredibly well. Flitwick pronounced himself stunned by Eva's proficiency in the subject, especially for someone spending their first year at Hogwarts.

Potions and Care of Magical Creatures also went well, with Eva taking an instant liking to Hagrid. Likewise, Hagrid followed his principle of judging people on nothing but their character (and whether Dumbledore trusted them) was as friendly to Eva as he was to everyone else. (It probably helped that Eva looked nothing like her brother or father, since Hagrid had had nothing but irritation every time he came face to face with them.)

Still, this was a marked difference to how most students were treating her. The only girl, other than Ginny and Hermione, who had even spoken to her was the more than slightly peculiar blonde, Luna Lovegood. After the Care of Magical Creatures lesson, Ginny frowned and said,

"I hope you weren't offended by Luna. She can be a bit eccentric and bluntly spoken sometimes, but she is a really good person."

Eva laughed. "Hey, it was me who thought that Insanity should be one of the 9 Noble Virtues. I think she's fantastic. That does remind me though… I'm not stealing you away from your friends by making you move dorms or anything, am I?"

Ginny flushed and looked away. "I haven't exactly got many friends. Sure, guys like me, but that's because they're not worried about how odd someone is, just how cute. I pretty much alienated every other girl in our year back when I was in first year. I was kind of out of it for the whole year. They don't hate me, but they've made their friendship groups now, and they just regard me as strange and not part of them."

Eva winced at the mention of Ginny's first year. She knew why Ginny had been 'out of it', as she said, and she knew who had caused all those problems. She also knew it had nearly led to her new friend's death.

"Sorry."

"For the millionth time, everything your family does is not your fault. If you don't blame me for how much of a prat Ron's acting at the moment, then I won't blame you for your relatives."

Ron certainly was acting like a bit of an idiot. Every time Eva appeared, he glared at her and refused to speak in her presence, unless it was to make loud and insulting comments about Death-Eaters. Eva had been able to tell at lunch that Hermione and even Harry had been embarrassed by his behaviour, but she didn't blame him. He had a set of beliefs as rigid as her brother's, and she didn't know how to break them down. Then again, she wasn't sure if she wanted to. Her pride had been raised by his insulting attitude, however much she had expected it, and she was being nearly as rude to Ron as he was to her.

"Speaking of prats, aren't you dreading DADA? Snape will be awful."

"I guess. I'm not nervous because of that though. So far, I've been okay, since you can learn everything you need to know about Care of Magical Creatures through theory. Potions is more following steps to a rhythm. It's like a dance, or a tune. It's not something you need experience for. And Charms, well I had a pretty good Charms tutor, since they are the most useful spells to learn for everyday things. But I've never learned any kind of Defence spells, or blocks or shields."

"You'll be fine."

Eva was most certainly _not _fine. She proved incapable of even the simplest Defence spells, and even by the end of the lesson, hadn't managed to successfully Disarm her partner.

Snape was not cruel to her – if he was another teacher, one might even say he was being nice. When they had separated into partners to practice the _Protego_ Shield, he had gone so far as to say,

"Do not worry, Miss Malfoy. _Protego _is a complex charm, which is difficult for any wizard to grasp. Most of the students around you only have this proficiency due to their illegal tutoring last year with Mr. Potter. I suggest if you want help with the subject that you ask Miss Weasley here."

Ginny stared at him after he left with wide eyes.

"Who the hell was that?" she whispered. "Definitely not Snape. He _almost_ complimented me, and he actually helped you."

Eva shrugged. "I guessed he might do one of two things: be ultra nasty to me, or as nice as he can manage. Glad he chose the second one."

"Merlin, yeah. But why would he treat you differently."

A look flashed onto Eva's face; it was a look Ginny was already coming to recognise.

"Let me guess, he featured in some way in your childhood and you promise to tell me one day."

Eva smiled.

"Yeah. You don't mind waiting, do you?"

"I guess I understand."

At the end of the lesson, Eva hurried off to a tutor session that had been arranged with Hermione. Ginny watched her go.

"Why don't you want people to know your past, Eva?" She mused aloud. "From what I can gather, it doesn't reflect badly on you, so people would at worst pity you."

"You say 'at worst' as though it is not that terrible a fate," a voice commented behind her.

Ginny jumped, turning to see the speaker - and nearly fell over in shock.

"Sn-Snape?" She stuttered then, regaining her composure, asked "What do you mean, sir?"

"Eva has an understanding of pity greater than yours. As someone who has never been on the receiving end, you do not understand how humiliating pity is. Better to have mystery, or even antagonism, than pity. It is easier on the pride, and even one raised such as her has pride. Indeed, to survive her childhood, she needed it more than ever."

Ginny stared. She'd never, ever heard Snape call a student by their first name, or sound empathetic towards them. She'd never even heard him talk so much before. Briefly, she wondered wildly if he had been replaced by an impostor, like Moody in third year.

Snape, for his part, seemed to realise the lapse in his persona, and with a curt nod he turned and swirled away.

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**Hope you liked it!**

**Like I said, review!**

**:D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! Thank you! I'm happy and hyper again! Even if I am exhausted. Lots of people reviewed again - 13 in fact! How lucky is that! Thank you and cookies to SuzieGeorge, notwolf, Robyn Hawkes, Astoria Malfoy, Leridan, The Zazu, PrincessSophie21, Boo81393, alphaMilca, harrypottertwilightlover92, miss sock puppet, Arlath's Daughter, gogguli and AveaJene**

**I know this chapter is again slightly short, but I wanted to update because I was so proud that I managed to write it on a train. I've been travelling lots recently, and a certain genius suggested to me that I wrote while doing it (don't worry, I'm not driving, it's public transport.) So I left with my notebook and I managed to write this! And I didn't miss my stop, which surprised me. **

**Please review! I hope it's good even if it was written whilst moving (or because of it. I actually usually think better whilst on buses, trains, cars, planes etc.)**

* * *

Eva bid farewell to Ginny as the redhead left for their next lesson. It was Divination, which Eva didn't take.

Left to her own devices, Eva wandered down to the lake and stared into the water. But her gaze was drawn to the Forest to her right, and at last she succumbed to the temptation. She began to walk under the trees, glancing around to ensure that nobody was watching.

As she advanced further into the forest, she began to feel uneasy. It was as if there were a thousand eyes watching her, waiting for her to make some mistake before they pounced.

'_Don't be silly,' _she shook herself mentally.

'_Don't be silly?' _another part of her mind responded. '_Don't you think you broke that rule when you walked into this forest. It's not called 'forbidden' because they thought it sounded good!'._

'_Yeah well,' _a third part of her responded. _'I knew there was a reason I was sorted into Gryffindor and it wasn't for my amazing good sense when facing danger.'_

Lost in her thoughts, she did not even notice when a low branch appeared in front of her.

"Ow!" she gasped, as she tripped and fell. Her robes tore, and thorns bit into her hands and knee. Blood began to leak from the scratches. She cursed to herself.

"Brilliant," she muttered aloud. "Just brilliant. Isn't this a wonderful state to end up in when you're in the Forbidden Forest?" Still complaining to herself, she turned to leave. And stopped, perplexed.

"Which way did I come from?" she asked aloud. Then sighed as she realised she was asking the air. "Oh, forget it, you're not going to answer. Might as well ask the trees."

"Well, I wouldn't say that was a great idea, but you never know." Eva jumped about a half-mile into the air as the melodic voice spoke from behind.

"Luna? Luna Lovegood, right?" Her pulse beginning to settle, Eva fixed a smile on her face. "Sorry about this, I'm just a little-"

"Lost? I could tell. Plus there are lots of Denivers around here. They tend to flock around the lost."

"Denivers?" Eva asked, lost now in more ways than one.

"Of course. But it wasn't them that led me to you."

"What did? Lead you to me, I mean?"

"They did, of course." Luna waved a hand around them.

Eva looked round uncertainly, not knowing what she was looking for.

"Uh, yeah. They're amazing?"

"They're not here yet, you know."

"Oh. Sorry."

All at once, Eva saw what Luna had been talking about. Through the trees, a creature approached. Its head was like that of the dragon she had seen in her Care of Magical Creatures textbook, but it's wings were more like the bats which inhabited the Manor's attic. It had an unnervingly skeletal body, and it seemed to be fixing her with an eerie glare from its white, shining eyes.

She gasped and took a step back. Not the best idea in a forest, as it turned out. She fell to the floor for the second time in as many minutes.

"Don't worry," Luna smiled. "They won't hurt you."

"What are they?" Eva asked. Her bravery was returning to her, and she got back to her feet. She took half a step towards the creatures.

"They're said to be quite unlucky. Not many people can see them-"

"Thestrals!"

Luna nodded. "Beautiful, aren't they?"

Eva turned to look at the blonde as the implications of this struck her. "Who did you see die?" she asked.

For a moment Luna said nothing, her silvery eyes fixed on Eva. Suddenly embarrassed by the intrusive and deeply personal question she had asked, Eva blushed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. You don't have to tell me."

Luna smiled softly. "It's alright. It was my mother. I was about nine. She was an amazing witch but just slightly scatter-brained and one day she was doing an experiment and..."

Despite the sombre topic of the conversation, Luna's voice was light, airy. She suited her house to a T, or rather an R. The element air, the intelligence, the knowledge – even the colour blue seemed to represent her perfectly.

Eva was drawn back to this planet as she realised Luna had finished and was watching her once again. She suddenly realised that she should reciprocate the Ravenclawgirl's confidences, but she couldn't. "I can't. Tell you, I mean." Feeling guilty that she had to be so secretive even when the other girl had been so open, she began to explain. But Luna cut her off.

"You don't have to."

"But-"

"Don't worry about it." Luna smiled lightly. "A problem shared might be a problem halved, but it can also be a problem doubled."

Eva nodded mutely. She changed the subject. "So, I've seen you around school before. I meant to talk to you before now, but I never really got the chance. You seem like a really great person, you'd make a great friend." She rabbited on, trying to draw Luna's mind away from their earlier topic of conversation.

Luna's whole face brightened, and her eyes glowed. "You think I'd be a great friend?"

"Yeah! Not that you have to be my friend, I mean, it's up to you. Not that I'm ambivalent about the whole thing…."

Nearly an hour later, two girls came wandering out of the forest. Astonishingly, both were smiling, despite the morbidity with which their conversation had begun.

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**Hope you liked it! Hope you didn't think Luna was OOC. I'm not hugely experienced at writing her, I should have asked for help from one particular friend, who is experienced. **

**I know lots of people felt Snape was slightly OOC last chapter - sorry about that. It is only with Eva that he is like that though. **

**Please review!**

**!**


	7. Chapter 7

****

Sorry this update took so long! Last week was impossibly hectic, but I finally finished this. Thanks to reviewers - SuzieGeorge, notwolf, Arlath's Daughter, harrypottertwilightlover92, Likewow5556, Robyn Hawkes, PrincessSophie21 and gogguli.

**Please, everyone, keep up your reviewing. It really encourages me to write despite the madness that my life is.**

**Author's Note: Reposted to correct some spelling errors**

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Days, and then weeks passed. Eva began to settle into Hogwarts life and most of the students seemed to have calmed their outright dislike of her. There was still whispering about her in corners, and some inescapable bullies still made it their job to bump into her and force her to drop things or lose things as often as possible, but they were the minority.

Mostly, people ignored her. Some had the courage to try and talk to her. But Eva's experiences had made her defensive and she rewarded any such efforts with cutting comments and sarcasm. As a result, most gave her a wide berth.

Yet she managed to become close to three particular people: Hermione, Luna and Ginny. Hermione's hard-working ethic appealed to her, whereas Ginny's forthrightness had definitely found a kindred spirit with her. Luna was a different kettle of fish entirely. The Ravenclaw girl was as intelligent and hard-working as Hermione. But she had another, unnameable quality that Eva loved. She could bring laughter to the dullest of situations, and it was the first time that Eva learned the true meaning of the phrase 'side-splitting laughter.'

The three fifth-years spent most of their time together. Ginny had a lot of time to hang around with the other two, as the Trio kept disappearing off to have private conversations without her. In addition, she was trying to avoid Dean, seeing as how he was being so possessive and patronising recently. Even Harry Potter himself wasn't unkind to Eva, though she knew already from overheard conversations that he was becoming increasingly obsessed with her brother. She wondered vaguely how long it would take before he asked Hermione to probe her about Draco.

But the first thing to really happen, over a month after her entry to Hogwarts, was the Hogsmeade weekend. Unfortunately, she couldn't go. Without a parental slip, it was impossible. So she wandered about the castle avoiding anyone mostly by luck, though she did have a long, much-needed conversation with Draco.

He looked paler than ever before, and even more strained. It was clear to her that he had something on his mind, but she couldn't tell what on earth it was, and he flatly denied it when she asked him. When she persisted, he simply said he had to go to his detention, and walked away.

Because of her continued stay at Hogwarts, she was one of the first to see Katie arrive. Hagrid rushed past her with Katie in his arms.

"Get Professor McGonagall," he called out as he hurried on.

Stunned, she stayed rooted to the spot for a few instants, before coming to her senses and racing to the Deputy Headmistress's office.

Skidding to a halt outside the door, she knocked desperately.

When the voice came, she pushed through the door, trying to control her breathing.

"Hagrid said to get you, it's Katie Bell, she's hurt, she's in the hospital wing, I came to tell you-"

"Slow down Miss Malfoy, you're not trying to win a competition."

"It's Katie Bell, professor. Hagrid just went past me carrying her, taking her to the hospital wing. He told me to contact you."

McGonagall rose instantly to her feet.

"Thank you for telling me," she managed to say, even as she rushed out the door and in the direction.

Though Eva later saw the Trio and Leanne being escorted by McGonagall into her office, she didn't get the details of the event until much later, once they were being freely spread around the school. It wasn't hard, though, to pick up on Harry's new "Malfoy is a Death-Eater" way of thinking, so she made doubly certain to avoid him.

* * *

However, a few days later, this latest gossip was driven from everyone's minds by a new source of rumours and speculation.

The first Ginny knew of it was when she saw Eva staring out the window, in a curious echo of their first morning. This time, though, she had an owl perched on her soldier, a huge Eagle Owl that Hermione recognised.

"That's Malfoy's owl!"

Eva waved the letter in her hands.

"It's in there this morning," she said sadly.

Ginny knew exactly what she was talking about.

"So someone told?"

"Eventually. I'm guessing this incident with Katie had something to do with it."

"You're not coming down then?"

"Not for a while." As Hermione left the room, Eva's gaze found Ginny. "Could you find Luna? I don't want to tell this twice, but I think you should both hear it from me."

* * *

Ginny followed Hermione down from the Common Room. As they approached the Great Hall, they exchanged a glance and went in. An almost eerie silence pressed down on them, broken only by the occasional murmuring and the rustle of pages. Catching sight of the two of them, people looked up and searched for Eva amongst them but, not seeing her, turned back to the newspapers that were being shared amongst them. Up on the staff table, people were reading newspapers too, though the expressions on their faces were closer to a sad sympathy than the curiosity that was rampant amongst the students.

Hermione went over to where the paper was being examined by Harry and Ron and began to read from over the boys' shoulders.

Luna stood from the Ravenclaw table as soon as she saw Ginny. She made her way over to her friend. Ginny didn't even have to say anything.

"She wants us to hear it from her." The blonde said. It was a statement, not a question. Ginny nodded. "Go on then," Luna continued. The two girls climbed back to the Common Room, where Eva waited.

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**Review! **

**Or else I'll never update. **

**I mean it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay! Yay! Yay! Doing happy dances because of all the reviews. Thank you all so much. An all-you-can-eat-buffet of cookies! And quite a long chapter. And now you all have to review again this time. **

**So thank you to SuzieGeorge, notwolf, Arlath's Daughter, Likewow5556, pstibbons, inkeyes7, Kryztol Thorn, jasara, Thalia, bsblover17, Boo81393, talapadme, harrypottertwilightlover92, gogguli, pianoluv and Dusty Brown.**

**Hope you like this chapter, and finding out the truth about Eva.**

* * *

The two girls entered to see Eva sat morosely on her bed. Without looking up, she started. "If you don't mind, I'm going to say it all. Don't interrupt, or I might not finish."

As her friends nodded, she began.

"I was born in 1978. Two years before Draco. Lucius was ...less than happy that I was a girl. He hadn't thought to have gender checks on my mother, and she hadn't reminded him. He was so angry…Dobby once said that he thought Lucius was going to kill me, but Narcissa stopped him. She didn't defend me in any other way though. Her maternal love went only as far as keeping me alive. She didn't dare to defy my father any further than that.

So I was kept alive. Given to Dobby to raise in secret, in one of the basement rooms. It wasn't bad. Dobby could get exasperating at times, but he really helped me. He taught me to read, to write and then he brought me lots of books. That's probably why I don't completely talk normally. I learned from a House-Elf and story-books, so my speech can lack most colloquial terms." She grinned, but it was a poor effort. "Should have been like heaven actually. All the books you can read, and all the food you can eat. The surroundings could have done with sprucing up, but there's a certain charm to mould on the walls.

I knew Lucius was desperately trying to find a way to hide me from Hogwarts when I turned eleven. Finally, with a few days to spare, he found a charm that sort of froze me in Time. I was kept under it for three years, during which I aged just enough to pass my eleventh birthday. But it happened so slowly that it bamboozled the Hogwarts searching equipment and so at the age of eleven and a day, I was released from the charm. Not that he told me any of this. I got it third-hand, when he was telling the Dark Lord... I don't know what he was originally planning on doing with me then. He suddenly had an eleven year old girl on his hands. But he'd achieved the important thing - I was now the younger sibling. Draco would inherit, not me.

But he was spared from having to make a decision when he discovered Draco's school progress. Immediately, he told Narcissa and Draco about me. It must have been a bit of a shock to them - I at least knew I had a brother because of Dobby, but I didn't think I'd ever properly get to _talk_ to him.

However, his 'failure to excel' – that is, the fact he wasn't top in the year – meant I spent most days with him. Lucius forced him to teach me Potions, Herbology, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, History of Magic….basically anything he could teach me without me becoming a danger. We were secluded, Draco wasn't allowed to see his friends, and so we actually ended up becoming friends. We comforted each other, both of us feeling the other was worse off, which made us feel better about our lives." At this point, Ginny seemed about to interrupt, but thought better of it.

"Maybe because of this, maybe because he's not the evil git he tries to be, he disobeyed Lucius. He taught me those charms that I might find useful, which were most of them. He taught me lots of Transfiguration. Lucius worked out he was casting spells up there, so he said he was practising hexes and curses. Of course, we knew that his wand's memory would be read when we finished, we usually practised some of those at the end. As a result, I'm almost ahead of everyone in some subjects, but totally rubbish in the ones which Draco didn't feel safe enough to teach me, or doesn't take – Muggle Studies, Divination, Defence Against the Dark Arts: not something that, according to Lucius, he should have been practising so not something he could teach me, however useful it would have been.

I loved the weeks when he was home from Hogwarts, when we could talk. But in his fourth year, I had an uncomfortable surprise. Draco had smuggled papers in for me, so I could understand a little about current events. Not to mention I had read every book I, or Dobby, could get my hands on. Including The Rise and Fall of Dark Arts, amongst others. As a result, I knew who Voldemort was. And when he turned up at the manor, I was terrified. Malfoy Manor became his base. It was safe enough from the Ministry, who wouldn't dare offend such a prominent man to search his house.

Voldemort was deeply amused by my story….. and, because of this, he commanded that I should watch every Death Eater meeting he held. He wanted to know the effects of witnessing murders and torture sessions on someone who knew none of the victims. I saw what happened to Snape when he turned up late to the Dark Lord's summons. I witnessed Bellatrix reunite with her beloved Master. I stood there in every single one of those depraved meetings, wishing I could be anywhere else!"

Her voice, which had begun to shake, had herself with a visible effort, she continued.

"That lasted for a year. Then everything happened so fast. Lucius and many others went on a mission and most never came back. Voldemort himself followed them. In desperation, Narcissa was hurriedly packing up and hiding all the Dark objects in the house. It wasn't until Draco came home that anyone explained anything.

I was so happy that Lucius had got his comeuppance. Although I knew Draco was upset by it. He was still young enough to worship Lucius a bit. I'd never had the opportunity for that blind devotion to grow, but it was obvious enough in him. He tries to emulate him, still. Idiot." She said this with affection in her voice, but also an undercurrent of anxiety. Emulating a Death Eater is, after all, a dangerous idea.

"But two days later, everything changed. Your father and his team arrived. They must have been shocked to see me, but Mr. Weasley didn't lose his wits. He sent for Dumbledore, knowing that I had to be got out of the Manor in a way that nobody noticed me, to spare me from prying eyes. Dumbledore set up a Portkey directly to Hogwarts, Mr. Weasley forbade anyone to speak a word about me and, praise Merlin, nobody did.

I spent the rest of the holidays being taught a bit to cover the gaps in my knowledge, and being tested on what magic I knew. I was questioned thoroughly, under Veritaserum about my childhood and my mind was read with Legilimency. I was taught Occlumency by Snape, who seemed unwilling to look me in the eye. Made the whole teaching thing a bit difficult, trust me. Finally, at the end of the summer, Dumbledore told me why. Apparently he felt guilty for seeing me so many times but not connecting the dots and rescuing me. Plus he was embarrassed at spending time with anyone who had seen him as a Death Eater. That's why he acts so weird around me. Ridiculous. It's not like he could have somehow seen through the Dark Lord's illusion, then single-handedly fought them all off, but there you go. And that's it. That's why I'm here now. That's why you never heard of a Malfoy daughter before now. That's why I am so grateful to your dad, Ginny."

She finished, her voice slightly hoarse.

Without a word, Ginny and Luna both crossed the room and hugged her.

""It's so unbelievable," Ginny gasped. "Sounds like something Luna would make up - no offence."

But Luna agreed. "Don't worry now though - your dad's safe in Azkaban. Surrounded by Dementors and Scelercors."

Eva looked at her friends gratefully and tried to grin. "Things that attack the wicked of heart?" she asked Luna.

Luna smiled gently. "Exactly."

"What about the Thestrals.." Ginny trailed off. Surprised, Eva looked at her.

"How did-"

"How did I know?" Ginny blushed. "I guessed when you said you were talking to Luna in the forest. What else would you have met over?"

A weak smile crossed Eva's face for a moment. "True enough." The smile vanished as the memories of the deaths came back to her. "I don't know if I should thank Fudge or curse him," she sighed. "On the one hand, his denial meant that there couldn't be that many deaths, and no wizards. I only saw eight Muggles. On the other, the Death Eaters had to be that much more...creative in their execution methods. The Ministry couldn't realise that they were wizarding deaths, you see. So Muggle torture, and Muggle murder."

She looked up, but her eyes didn't see them. "How can someone so stupid be so imaginative?" she asked. "You can think of how to use _Wingardium Leviosa_ to kill, but _Lumos_? _Accio_? Not to mention the normal cutting charms. Or _Flagrate_. _Flagrate_ works just as well on skin, you know. And _Aguamenti_ can be used to..." Her voice fell away.

Ginny rubbed her shoulders comfortingly.

"You want to be alone to read the article?" the redhead asked.

When Eva silently agreed, the girls nodded sympathetically and with another hug, left the room.

* * *

**I know the extended speech might have been a bit hard to follow. If anyone doesn't understand anything, let me know in a review**

**Review and tell me what you think.**

**Also, if anyone is good at thinking of newspaper headlines, tell me fast, because I need to write a headline for the article about her but there's**** a reason I'm not a journalist.**

**And again - review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you if you reviewed! Anyone who didn't, please review if you are reading the story. If you don't like it, tell me how to improve it, and if you do..tell me that!**

**So thanks to - SuzieGeorge, pstibbons, Likewow5556, PrincessSophie21, teacher123, Boo81393, notwolf, harrypottertwilightlover92, gogguli, tamara72 and Arlath's Daughter.**

**And thanks to everyone who suggested article titles. **

* * *

Luna and Ginny returned to the Great Hall in silence, both turning over what Eva had told them in their minds. When they at last reached the Great Hall, conversation had broken out everywhere. The two of them hurried to the nearest table, caring nothing for what House it belonged to, and snatched up a paper.

The article was lengthy and illuminated by the front page title "**Mystery Malfoy Daughter - The Truth Emerges?**"

_**Many ideas have been thrown around about the life of the mysterious girl who turned up at Hogwarts at the beginning of this school year, claiming to be called Evelna Malfoy and a daughter of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Subsequently Sorted into Gryffindor, all of us have wondered about the origins of this girl, about whom nobody knew a thing before her sudden appearance in September, and her allegiances, being a Malfoy yet a Gryffindor. The Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal the truth.**_

_**Close acquaintances of the Malfoy family have spoken out. Evelna Malfoy, is in truth what she claims. She is a daughter of the Malfoys. But not a younger daughter. Born two years before her brother, Draco Malfoy, she would have been the heir to the Malfoy fortunes. **_

_**This was not something Lucius Malfoy would accept. Said to be 'enraged' by the female heir, he made a plan. He Modified the memory of the Healers who had attended the birth. Then what happened? Few people know. Eva disappeared from the knowledge of nearly all of us. **_

**_But here at the_ Daily Prophet_, we know the truth. Evelna Malfoy never left the house in which she was born. Kept in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor for eleven years, she allegedly received no human contact. Is this true? Or was she actually in training with her Death Eater father?_**

_**We do know that f**__**inally, mere days before her eleventh birthday, with her brother Draco being 8 at the time, he found a charm that would solve his problems.**_

_**The highly illegal Tempus Lentus charm, would delay the passage through Time of any object upon which it was placed. Casting this charm on his own daughter, he slowed her aging so much that, over the next three years, she aged only 3 days. **_

_**Those with much knowledge of the Hogwarts alert system know that it records any witches or wizards the instant they become eleven, for future reference when sending out entrance letters. But this slow aging confused even this most powerful spell, so Evelna Malfoy became eleven with nobody the wiser. Once the three years had passed, Lucius released Evelna from the charm. She was now a year younger than his son, and so would not inherit the estate. **_

_**Yet there was still the problem of what to do with her. He could not suddenly produce an eleven year old child, nor did he particularly want to. It isn't known why he did not kill her. Perhaps he wanted the back up of Malfoy blood she provided. In the case that his son and heir were to pass away, surely a female heir would be better than none. Perhaps he simply wanted an assistant for his nefarious deeds as a Death Eater, or a guinea pig for the curses and Dark objects that were developed there.**_

_**One thing is for sure though: he kept this daughter locked in his house for the next 5 years. Nobody knows what knowledge the other Malfoys had of Lucius' actions. Did Narcissa accept the taking away of her daughter? Did she think her to have been born dead? Did Draco even know he had a sister? If not, it must have been some surprise to him when he returned at the end of his first year to find one. The two Malfoy children must have got to know each other at one point. Fellow Hogwarts students say Mr Malfoy refuses to comment on his sister, though he has been seen occasionally talking to her. **_

**_As we all know, in June last year a fiasco occurred at the Ministry. The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, often called the Chosen One, led a band of students and reportedly much of the elusive Order to victory against You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters. Amongst the captured Death Eaters was Lucius Malfoy. As a result of this, Ministry_ _Officials raided Malfoy Manor. It is presumed that they found Miss Malfoy there, though not a single one of them breathed a word to_****_anybody about it. Inquiries now lead to 'No comment'. Arthur Weasley, Head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects,_ _says_**_ **this. "Leave the poor girl alone. You won't find out secrets about her by asking us."**_

_**Evelna's existence must have been the best kept secret in history, as none of the students save Draco seemed even to know of it until September. Is this the final word on the tale? Will Evelna make it into our headlines again? At the Daily prophet, we're thinking 'Yes!'**_

**For a Hogwarts student's say on how Evelna has been settling into the school and how she has struck up unlikely friendships, see pages 2 & 3**

**For a full report of the crimes of Lucius Malfoy, see page 8**

**For our reporter's judged opinion on those missing years, until Evelna turned eleven, see page 10**

**For the rumoured links of the whole of his family to You-Know-Who, see page 11**

**In Comment, read the letters of those who think Miss Malfoy to be a danger to us all, and those who think her a victim, not a criminal.**

**Also, by our psychological experts, 'Why Evelna Malfoy will turn out bad' and an in depth analysis of why she has formed the friendships she has.**

In her room, Eva read the article, and those attached to it. She tried to keep the anger from rising, but the ill-considered, blind opinions of the letters and reporters were too much.

At the Slytherin table, Draco Malfoy ignored all attempts at communication, eating silently, an inscrutable expression on his face.

Ginny and Luna together knew the article to be right. It had very little exaggeration, for a change, and most of the facts corresponded with what Eva had said.

But Ginny glared at the article all the same. "Trust the Prophet to twist what should be a story of sympathy for Eva into a story about how evil she is." she muttered angrily to Luna, refusing to read the Comment section altogether, and the articles by so-called 'experts' on how Eva was only manipulating them, like all her family, and would end up a Death Eater.

Ron, Harry and Hermione, along with most of the students in the hall, were shocked. They hadn't imagined anything like that when they had speculated about Eva's past.

Snape watched them with narrowed eyes. He knew it was his duty to watch over Draco, not Eva, but he wanted to make sure that the Gryffindors would not abandon the girl.

McGonagall's lips tightened as she saw the fantasies dreamed up by the Prophet's reporters on what might have happened to Eva from her birth to eleven years of age. As if the girl didn't have enough to live with, she hardly needed these ridiculous rumours following her.

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**Review! Or else...**

**(I can't think of an 'or else' to put there. I'm very bad at threats. Just know that it is unimaginably horrible!)**

**So tell me what you thought.**

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	10. Chapter 10

**Yay! Over one hundred reviews. I love you all so much, and I'm so grateful that you're reading this. SOrry I didn't update over the weekend, I had family visiting. Lets just say it was pretty stressful.**

**Thank yous for reviews go to - SuzieGeorge, Arlath's Daughter, notwolf, PrincessSophie21, T, Likewow5556, bsblover17, talapadme, tamara72, teacher123, harrypottertwilightlover92, gogguli, Boo81393. **

**13 reviews! I love getting thirteen reviews - partly because it's lots of reviews, partly because it's such a great number.**

**And it's onto Chapter Ten**

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Finally, Ginny and Luna split up. Luna went back to her Common Room, whilst Ginny joined her friends at the Gryffindor table. Ron turned to look at his sister.

"You know her best. Did she ever say anything about any of this?"

Ginny remained silent.

Her silence prompted the others to turn to her.

"Well?"

"Okay! She was always saying how one day her past would come out in the papers. Then, when she knew this morning that it would, she told me everything."

"What did she say? Is the Prophet right?" The babble of voices broke out around her.

"She's my friend. I'll respect her confidence, thank you very much."

"I'm your brother! Plus she's a Malfoy, how much of a friend could she be."

"Don't! Eva is nothing like her father, you shouldn't just judge her for her last name. Besides, didn't you read the damn article? How much is she really likely to be like the people who didn't want her?"

"So it's true!"

Infuriated, Ginny turned on her heel and stormed from the Hall. She didn't notice Hermione shoot a withering glance at Ron and follow, or someone silently detaching themselves from the Slytherin table and sliding out of the Hall.

Hermione jogged to catch up with the youngest Weasley.

"Ron was just being Ron. He doesn't really know Eva-"

"Then he shouldn't make judgements on her. Don't defend him Hermione. You don't think he was right any more than I do."

"No, I don't."

"He wouldn't talk like that if he knew what kind of state she'll be in."

"Have you seen her?"

"Not since she read the article. She seemed pretty close to tears when I left though."

"But she never cries. Even when that Petrificus Totalus 'accidentally' hit her while she was walking down the stairs and she rolled down three flights, or when that Doxy 'found' its way into her school bag and nearly bit her fingers off."

Eva's weeks at Hogwarts had been littered with incidents like this. She'd got to know Madame Pomfrey pretty well by this time, and her friends were right. She hadn't once shed a tear. Her facial composure was incredible, and had stunned many people who had made the mistake of being irritating during one of her often bad moods. Her speech was a lot less controlled, as those unfortunates had discovered. Sadly, on the occasion that a Professor was drawn to the quarrel, her adversary was usually the one in tears - Eva's insults were as cutting as her brother's and, too proud to tell the Professor how the argument has started, she was often the one to be blamed.

Suddenly the boy who had been following the two Gryffindors spoke up. "Eva won't cry, especially not in front of people."

The girls turned and were stunned to see who had spoken.

He elaborated.

"Eva's been taught that crying is a sign of weakness. She's learned by now not to go round bawling like a baby."

He spoke in a dismissive tone, and his face seemed to show little worry for his sister.

Angered by this, and by what she had read, Hermione snapped at him. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"I want you to get my sister, so I can see her."

"So you can bully her? No way."

He crossed the steps between them in a flash. His eyes suddenly turned into grey clouds, a far cry from the usual hardness, and his tone vibrated with emotion.

"I would never_, ever, _deliberately cause harm to Eva. She's the best thing to come out of our family in centuries. I want to know if she's okay!"

He suddenly released Hermione's arm and stepped away, sneering.

"Just tell her I want to see her. Believe what you want, I'm just not leaving her to the mercy of a Mudblood and a blood traitor." His eyes were hard again and he looked at both girls with equal contempt.

Ginny's eyes narrowed, but Hermione just nodded.

"We'll tell her."

* * *

Her shoulders shaking, Eva lay on her bed. She was too wrapped up in herself to notice Ginny and Hermione come in.

When the girls each laid a hand on her shoulder, she started and tried to sniff back her tears and wipe her eyes, but Ginny stopped her.

"It does you good to let it out. You should talk about it again too, when you can bear to."

"I know. Just, not yet, okay."

"When you're ready, we'll be listening." Hermione comforted.

"But for now, there's someone else who wants to talk."

"Wh-where?" She tried to sit up and look round

"Well, he can't really come inside the Common Room, let alone our dorm."

"Draco."

It wasn't a question.

Ginny frowned. "You don't have to see him, if you don't want to."

"No, I want to. You wouldn't understand, but he's always been different to me. I know he's a real bastard here, but he was never like that when he was teaching me. There's two sides of him, the one that school and our family see, and the one he is when he's on his own. And even though that side is disappearing, he still shows it sometimes when he's around me. And it's a caring side, it really is. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for him. He insisted that I be brought out as soon as he got home. He knew that the Ministry would be there soon, and he wanted me to be found. He wanted me to have the best chances I could, no matter how it reflected on our name."

She stood, fixing her red eyes with a glamour charm perfected over many years of practice, and went down to her brother. Out of respect for their privacy, Ginny and Hermione didn't follow, though they couldn't stop themselves talking about what Eva had said.

* * *

Displays of emotion weren't really the style of this pair of siblings, so Draco's one-armed hug expressed more comfort than most bear hugs.

He said nothing, waiting for her to start.

Finally she glanced up. "Reactions?"

"Pretty much shock. Curiosity. Confusion along the less bright ones."

"And pity. Big heapings of pity."

"You can't avoid it. And they can't help feeling like that. They actually think it makes you feel better."

"Idiots."

"No arguments here."

"Oh, stop being such a snob!"

"But then what reason would I have to smirk," he teased.

"You could try smiling, might not kill you."

"But it'd hurt my face. Besides, everyone would have heart attacks and drop dead of shock."

"You could be the Dark side's new secret weapon," she joked.

He didn't respond, and the smile slid from her face.

"What is it? For Merlin's sake, Draco, what in hell happened over the weeks that I was away this summer?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Sure, and I'm a Hippogriff."

"Mmm, I thought your hair was getting a little feathery, but I didn't want to mention it."

She laughed and shoved him.

The bell for the end of breakfast rang.

"I'd better go. Wouldn't want a load of Potty-Head Gryffindors noticing a Slytherin outside their Common Room."

"Prat."

"Shrimp"

"Arrogant, stuck-up Slytherin."

"Know-it-all little Gryffindor."

"Oh, just go! And, Draco!"

He turned around just as he reached the end of the corridor.

"Look after yourself."

"I'll make sure I eat three meals a day, now stop worrying about me."

She watched him go. '_How can I do that?' _she thought._'You've lost weight, you've got dark shadows under your eyes. You look like you're being trailed by a Pogrebin, and you won't ever let anyone in. I'm your sister and you've done so much for me. Let me help you, Draco, please, before you do something drastic.'_

* * *

**Review!**

**Hope the Draco bits were alright. I'm glad you all liked finding out the truth in the previous chapters.**

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	11. Chapter 11

**I'm really, really sorry about how late this chapter is, and how short. I've been busy this week, so I offer this with my humblest apologies and I promise I'll try to update soon with a longer chapter. I hope you still review though!**

**Last chapter, thank you to notwolf, Boo81393, Olympia, PrincessSophie21, tamara72, harrypottertwilightlover92, teacher123, Likewow5556, gogguli, Arlath's Daughter and pstibbons for their kind reviews.**

* * *

Amazingly enough, the weeks passed without incident. Eva bore people's looks of pity with as much good grace as she could muster, and tried to absorb herself in her schoolwork and friends. Thankfully, this was made possible by Hermione's argument with Ron, not to mention Ginny's run in with him after the Quidditch tryouts. The two girls were more than happy to avoid public eyes for a while.

It was at one of their study sessions in the library that Eva discovered who Hermione was taking to the Slug Club's Christmas party.

"Cormac McLaggen?" She hissed at the older girl in disbelief.

"He's attractive, an excellent Quidditch player-"

"Whose head is so big that it couldn't fit through a door!"

Dropping all pretence, Hermione shrugged. "I thought he'd annoy Ron most."

"Well, sure, short of bringing a Slytherin."

"I know. I considered them, but I felt Harry might not understand."

"You considered bringing a Slytherin," Eva stated flatly. She threw up her hands. "That is it. I declare you officially insane." Turning away, she looked at her other friend. "And you, of course, are bringing Dean, despite the fact he irritates you more than Itching Powder."

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "You have a better suggestion?"

"Yes! Dump him now, before you chuck him in the lake."

"Can't I do both?"

Hermione nodded in agreement. "After this party, I might be forced to bring Cormac along for a soaking."

Shaking her head at the antics of her best friends, Eva turned to Luna.

"Can I at least assume that you've kept hold of your sanity?"

Ginny grinned. "Her sanity? I thought we agreed that Luna lost that a long time ago."

"I'm perfectly sane," Luna objected mildly. "It's the rest of you that are crazy."

Eva rubbed her temples. "And it's having a detrimental effect on my own rationale."

"Besides," Luna suddenly added. "I'm going to the party with Harry."

This last comment caused heads to jerk up. Eva stared at her friend, whilst Hermione actually dropped her quill.

"Ow!" Ginny, searching for a book on the nearby bottom shelf, had hit her head on it.

"Did you just say what I thought you said?" Eva asked.

"Harry asked you to the party?" Hermione clarified.

"Yes," the blonde replied innocently. "He said he'd been looking at me for a while now."

A moment of silence. Her big, silvery eyes blinked at them. She smiled, not a trace of guile in her look.

"What?" Ginny questioned slightly tersely.

Luna continued to smile.

"We fell for it," Eva realised.

The Ravenclaw nodded, the serene smile still on her face.

"So you're not going to the party with Harry?" Hermione tried again.

"Oh no, I am. But just as friends." Luna shook her head. "And you think I'm gullible, Hermione."

This last statement, despite the laughter with which it was delivered, caused Hermione to blush. She hadn't realised how obvious she was being on that subject.

* * *

**Like I said, I know it's short. But I'll make sure my next chapter is longer**

**That is, I will if you all review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Wow, I love the new Reader Traffic thing they've introduced. Apparently I have US readers (expected that), some UK (hello, fellow inhabitants of the land of fog and rain), Canadian readers (I knew that!), but more unusually - Guam (I bet it's sunny there), India (my dad grew up there!), the Philippines (have a friend from there!), Germany (guten tag), France (bonjour) and Norway (I have a friend who loves Norway, does that count as a fact about it? She only knows one Norwegian word though - cattlegrid)**

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**And now, Chapter 12.**

* * *

After the actual event had taken place, Eva was quite glad that she hadn't gone to the Slug Club Christmas Party. Hermione had very nearly resorted to throwing Cormac in the lake, it seemed, or at the very least offering him up to the vampire Sanguini as a tasty treat. Eva also heard all about Draco trying to turn up. She was glad that her friends had told her – it confirmed her hopes that people were finally seeing her as Eva, rather than as 'that Malfoy girl'.

This meant that she finally felt secure enough to defend her brother.

"I know he's never shown you a good side, but he does have one. The opinions he shouts around everywhere, they've been spoon-fed into him by Lucius. They're not what he truly believes, at least they wouldn't be if he didn't have to keep up his image."

Luna, Ginny and Hermione all looked at her. Luna simply wore the serene expression she always did, which didn't show agreement or otherwise. Hermione seemed to be trying to maintain a balanced expression, but she was failing. She did seem understanding, but more in the way of 'Eva is defending her psycho brother out of family loyalty.' Ginny had less control over her face than Hermione, so showed even more clearly that this was an interesting theory, but a theory along the lines of Luna's theories about the Rotfang Conspiracy.

Eva sighed, and gave up for now. '_I won't give up on this though,' _she promised herself. '_I know Draco is good, and I need to convince at least one person to give him a chance.'_

However, she had never felt less like giving any of her family a chance than when she contemplated the next few weeks. Spending any amount of time at Malfoy Manor, let alone the weeks of Christmas was going to be hell, but since Lucius remained in Azkaban, she couldn't claim any valid reason for not going.

She had expected her three best friends to pick up on her unease, but was shocked, to say the least, when Harry remarked one day,

"So you're not looking forward to going home then?"

Eva had flushed. She was outspoken, but unaccustomed to having her emotions picked up on by people who barely knew her. '_Must be the influence of all the Gryffindors,' _the side of her that sounded a lot like Draco said. "Not really. It doesn't exactly even feel like a home. I barely know Narcissa."

"Won't she want to get to know you?"

"I doubt it. She was, by all accounts, hardly very upset when Lucius said he was giving me up for adoption. Pity he couldn't bring himself to actually do so. Too afraid someone might discover, and the Malfoy name would be hurt. Like he hasn't done enough to trample _that _into the dust. Plus the fact that I was Sorted into Gryffindor won't exactly endear her to me."

She blinked, stunned by the amount she had spoken. Unless she was mad (and even then she was more likely to be sarcastic), she normally never said more than two sentences at once, and nothing particularly revealing about herself.

Harry snorted. "Yeah, I'd imagine your family would disapprove of that."

"I think the reaction, if I'd been a normal Malfoy anyway, would have been topped only by the reaction to Padfo- I mean Sirius Black doing the same. No, this Christmas will not be a merry one."

"Don't worry. If I was going back to the Dursleys, I'd be even more-" Harry paused as something Eva had said sank in. "You were about to say Padfoot."

Eva glanced away, but seeing no escape from the conversation, nodded. "He was pretty much my hero when I was growing up. Despite it all, I was still worried that I was going to turn out like them. His example was something to hold on to."

"But how did you even find out about him?" Harry pressed.

"I was just...looking around one day and I found a box of things."

* * *

A little girl runs down a corridor. It is dank, and dark, but she is used to this. Nothing she has ever known has been different. She isn't looking for an escape from her world, but looking for the only living creature who has ever spoken to her - a House-Elf, going by the name of Dobby.

There is light coming from beneath a door. She grabs the handle and darts inside. A mistake, as it turns out.

The room is illuminated only by the green glow coming from the many Dark Marks emblazoned on the walls. Her blue eyes are wide, staring at her surroundings, then she shivers. The feelings the room gives off only intensify her earlier fears.

The room was one that had gone down in legend, much like the Chamber of Secrets. Inaccessible to all but the Malfoy line, it was a grim place. Lucius had been using it for many years to store all his darkest secrets. The Dark Objects that he would not want the Ministry to find. These Objects can sense Eva's fear. They feed on it, and increase it by projecting apparitions into the air and whispering terrible things into the quiet.

She whimpers, trying to block it out. Finally she crawls into a corner, where there is no skull glowing from the wall. But, she discovers, that is because the corner is not a corner, but a box. She looks through it, desperate to distract herself. And succeeds.

There is a blanket in there, on which Amy Bones is embroidered. A silver picture frame, in which two red-headed twins waved out, both of them holding a second red headed twin, though the second pair are only babies. A wizards hat, the name tag 'C. Dearborn' attached. A wand. A rattle. A child's doll. A cloak with a different nametag attached, but the name is too faded to read. Two wedding rings, a matching pair. The list grows and grows, as Eva, fascinated, looks through. She is too young to realise what she has found, but it is the most interesting thing that has ever come into her life - the colours alone are dazzlingly bright in the drab world where she has grown up. When Dobby finally gathers the courage to enter the only room he had not yet searched for his young charge and lead her back to her room, she drags the box along behind her. Hiding it in a corner of her cupboard, these are her most treasured possessions.

It is only years later that she realises what these objects, so innocently pored over in her childhood, are. Trophies, taken from the homes and bodies of the Death Eater's victims. Some are Muggle, some not. It doesn't matter. When she comes to this conclusion, she decides to throw them away. But there is no way to do so, not now that the door to her room is locked. Instead, she studies them more and more, driven by boredom and an unhealthy fascination.

It is the final item that interests her most. After six months, and much research, she works out how to use it. It is a Muggle camcorder, but with red sparks still fizzling around the battery compartment. With a feeling of satisfaction at a completed job, and apprehension over what the film could contain, she presses "Play." And watches, entranced, as characters appear on the screen.

* * *

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	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks if you reviewed - bsblover17, notwolf, larabrambleofbywater, Boo81393, SuzieGeorge, gogguli, Arlath's Daughter, Likewow5556, 761622 and The Breeze**

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**And what a long chapter! Over 1800 words!**

* * *

Harry listened in surprise as Eva narrated what had happened.

"It was the Muggle Studies NEWT coursework of these two seventh-years. Remus Lupin and Marlene McKinnon. They asked Lily Evans, your mother, for help, since Marlene and she were friends, and somehow all of Remus' friends got involved. They use it as a kind of diary. I think at some point they forgot it was going to be handed in, because they started to get a lot more personal. Anyway, I-it, well, I ended up watching it over and over again. I could almost recite every word by now." She finished half-mockingly.

"Do you still have it?" Harry asked eagerly.

Eva blinked, brought back to the present by harsh reality. Her throat was dry from talking. _'You should have known he'd want to see it,' _she told herself silently. _'It's his parents for Merlin's sake, not to mention his godfather, who your dear Auntie _murdered_ last June.'_

"I can try," she answered uncertainly.

"I mean, don't if it puts you in danger," Harry backtracked_._

"No, I can manage it." _'And I will,' _she insisted to herself.

* * *

A few days later, they all prepared to leave. As they dismounted from the train, Luna and Ginny both hugged Eva.

"Promise to write if it gets too much," Ginny instructed.

"I promise."

"And remember, avoid the mistletoe," Luna warned. "Those Nargles are pretty contagious."

""Don't worry. Mistletoe is one thing that will be absent from this Christmas. Misery, much bile and some glares, but no mistletoe."

"Oh, it was directed at Ginny too."

Ginny rolled her eyes, hugged them again, and left, following Ron, Harry and Hermione, the last two of whom had stopped to say goodbye to Eva.

Luna headed off in another direction.

Though he made no noise, Eva could tell that her brother had come up behind her, but she ignored him for a second to watch the tableau that the Weasley family made.

They all embraced. Ginny hit her dad lightly on the arm. One of the older boys gestured towards Eva, clearly asking if she was _the _Evelna Malfoy. The mother knocked his arm down, just as clearly rebuking him for being so rude as to point.

"So, should we go then?" Draco asked.

With a sigh, Eva turned away. Her brother, who looked more ashen-faced than ever, stood in front of her.

"Lead the way," she offered. "It's not like I know where to go."

Draco seemed about to rest his arm around her shoulders, but then suddenly realised that there may be people watching.

"Looking forward to a Happy Christmas?" he asked dryly.

"It's the highlight of my year," Eva responded, just as dryly.

The two of them walked to a Floo Fireplace and spun away.

* * *

True to predictions, Eva's holiday was less than fun. She spent most of her time in her room, bored out of her mind. "_Well, 'my' room is stretching it a bit. I've just found this empty room and chosen it. Why shouldn't I? I'm not planning on returning to that dungeon room, Wish Box or not." _

The Wish Box was something her room had been equipped with once Dobby had gone. Reluctant to do anything like take care of her, such as bringing her food, the box had been left in her room one night whilst she slept. It gave her any food she wanted, and any books. It even gave her lanterns to read her books by. She'd once asked for a mirror, embarrassed by her appearance when she met her perfectly-groomed brother. But it had been no substitute for freedom, and the things it wouldn't give her were what she wanted most - a chance to go outside, a glimpse of the sky, the feel of grass on her feet. An avid reader though she was, books descrbing the outside world were far from the real thing.

As a result, the room she had chosen had a huge window and on Christmas Day, the owls from both Ginny, Hermione and Luna, along with her Christmas presents, had no trouble delivering.

_**Dear Ginny**_, she wrote on Boxing Day,

_**Wow! I can't believe you, Fred and George actually threw something at Percy. Then again, from all your stories of the three people involved, not to mention my knowledge of you, maybe I can. Plus the Minister's cheek at asking Harry to help him! That definitely doesn't surprise me. I've been receiving the Daily Prophet recently - he sounds like a jerk.**_

_**Thanks for the Shield Hat. Knowing my complete lack of skills in Defence Against the Dark Arts, it should end up being useful. And thanks for the Daydream Potion, I need something that will liven up this holiday.**_

_**Yeah, the holidays are being really fun. Note the sarcasm? I've barely seen anyone. Maybe my mother and Draco's rooms are so luxurious that they can't bear to leave them. Or maybe not.**_

**_Say Merry Christmas to Harry for me. I'd suggest you say it to Ron, but he might think that I'm trying to curse him by wishing him a happy holiday._**

**_Love Eva_**

She rolled up the letter and attempted to tie it to the leg of the smallest owl in her room. This took a while, since the little creature was far too busy trying to annoy the sedate owl that had arrived with Hermione's letter and present. Eventually she managed and turned her attention to the next letter.

_**Dear Luna,**_ she began,

_**Nope, no sighting of Yulversas. Unless you count my brother and mother, both of whom are doing pretty good impressions of them. Honestly, all they do is sit in their rooms. I want to know what's so interesting that they feel the need to avoid me constantly. Or maybe not. There are some things I don't want to know. **_

_**Lots of things I don't want to know in fact. And just thinking of things I don't want to know has put a mental image of them in my mind. Stop! Please! Trying to drag my mind forcibly away from that topic, and onto a nice safe one, like…..kittens! Aren't kittens cute and cuddly? Very sweet, all fluffy – it's not working. Perhaps I should have chosen an interesting topic change.**_

_**I know – your Christmas present. I hoped you liked the glass Heliopath I gave you. And I love my present. It makes a wonderful pet. Especially how good it is at catch. It's not so good at throw, especially when we're near a window though. Can I just ask one thing? Why does it resemble a rock so closely? Not that I don't think it's beautiful, it's just….**_

_**Anyway, hope you're having a good Christmas. See you soon, hopefully hear from you sooner**_

_**Eva**_

_**P.S. Why did you feel the need to include seven p.s's in your letter?**_

_**P.P.S. I understand that I'm so amazing that you can't stop talking to me, but still**_

_**P.P.P.S. Of course, now you've got me doing it!**_

_**P.P.P.P.S. The weather is pretty wet today….perhaps I should see how my new pet likes being left to get wet, then have the water freeze. I hear freeze-thaw treatment is the latest in pebble cosmetic treatments.**_

_**P.P.P.P.P.S. Don't worry, I'm only joking**_

_**P.P.P.P.P.P.S. You realise I'm only adding these now so that I've added more than you**_

_**P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. I don't know why I'm trying to be as crazy as you are**_

_**P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. I managed it though!**_

_**P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. I wonder if there is a record for this?**_

Rolling her eyes at the sheer insanity of her friend and their correspondence, she rolled this letter up too and attached it to the third bird in her room. She couldn't be certain if this even _was_ an owl. It flew and it had big, glowing eyes, but there the resemblance ended. It tweeted in an exuberant manner that resembled a starling rather than an owl, yet it had wings of a massive span. Not to mention that it was bright orange.

As she sent this creature off through the window (and it barely fit through the opening) she turned back to her letters to begin the third.

**_Dear Hermione_**

**_Thanks for the book. I've read halfway through it already. I'm _so_ tempted to try out some of the spells, but it's a bit of a risk, using magic when the Manor is under such careful watch._**

**_Thanks for the Merry Christmas wishes, but I don't think they got through. We all spent the entire time in our separate rooms. I haven't seen anyone for ages. And no, it's not like I'm going out of my way to try see them. Though in my defence, I'm not trying to avoid them either._**

**_I hope your Christmas went better than mine. _**

As she finished off this letter and signed it, she had already turned her thoughts to the next thing that she had to do - get that camcorder back from the room. She'd brought the box back to the room (that she had privately named the 'Morsmordre Room') soon after the Dark Lord had returned. But whether it would still be there was the question. Even if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named hadn't decided to take the stuff, the Ministry might have found the box - though hopefully they'd have given it to Harry if they had.

Shaking herself out of her daze, she realised that the well-trained owl had been waiting patiently with his leg extended for Hermione's letter for a long time. Apologising to him (and realising how stupid that looked as soon as she did it), she let him go.

* * *

**Review!**

**Yulversas – anti-Christmas creatures - like the Grinch**

**Review!**

**Luna's present - a Pebble Pet. Look it up, if you don't know what it is. I'd expect you could guess though. **

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**Does this count as subliminal messaging to Review!**

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	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you if you reviewed my last chapter.**

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* * *

The compartment door slammed open. The single occupant did not look up, expecting whoever had interrupted to realise that 'Loony Lovegood' was in there and to move on. She might have fought with Harry in the Department of Mysteries, but most people still gave her a wide berth.

But instead of a muttered 'Sorry' and the door closing again, her attention was dragged away from the issue of the _Quibbler_ that she was reading by a laugh. Luna looked up. Framed by the doorway, stood one of her closest friends.

"How were your holidays?" Luna inquired politely.

"Awful." Eva replied cheerily, her black curls swinging as she collapsed into one of the seats. She frowned in irritation. "I don't think I like my hair growing out again," she muttered. "It keeps getting in my eyes." Reaching into her trunk, she pulled out a scarlet headband, embroidered with golden lions. She positioned it firmly on her head. "Much better," she grinned.

"A Christmas present?"

Eva nodded. "From Draco. He obviously felt he had to balance out the fact that he didn't bother to talk to me over the whole two weeks." She quickly changed the subject. "What about you? What did you get?"

And the two girls chatted all through the rest of the time of the train journey. And the carriage trip back up to the castle. It was only with extreme reluctance that they finally parted to return to their separate Common Rooms.

Ron, Harry and Hermione were already sitting there, intent on a conversation that broke off the instant they saw Eva draw near. Eva rolled her eyes. "Don't they know how obvious that is," she sighed to herself. Behind her, a disgruntled looking Ginny swung into through the portrait hole.

"Fun reconciliation with Dean?" Eva teased.

Ginny groaned. "Don't mention him. I thought absence was supposed to make the heart grow fonder."

"That's if you have a heart in the first place. You're so cruel to all your boys." They both laughed and went over to the Trio.

Hermione stood up to hug Eva. "How were the rest of your holidays?" she asked.

"Not bad-" Eva began, but was cut off by Harry suddenly standing up to cut her off.

"Did you find it?" he interrupted eagerly, having obviously been suddenly reminded of the recording of his parents. The other three wore confused expressions, but Eva didn't bother to pretend she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Yes, I have it in my trunk," she admitted.

"Can I have it?" the older boy asked.

"Hang on, have what?" Ron asked, clearly slightly put out by the fact that Eva knew something about his best mate that he didn't.

"Eva found this video when-" Harry began, but it was Eva's turn to interrupt.

"Sorry, do you mind if I say it." She didn't wait for a response, as there was no way she was going to let Harry repeat the whole story as she had naively blurted it out to him. "When I was little, I found this camcorder- a kind of Muggle contraption that records pictures and sound. It had been altered, so it would work at Hogwarts. It was some kind of Muggle Studies project of a group of people who were at Hogwarts a few years ago. The people were Harry's parents, and their friends."

Silence.

Then, once the news had sunk in, a babble of voices.

"And you still have it?" - from Ginny.

"How does that work" – predictably, from Hermione.

"What was it doing at your house?" – Ron.

She chose to ignore all of these questions and refer to Harry's earlier one. "Sure you can have it. I'll go get it."

She turned to go, but was stopped by Hermione. "Wait! It's just the record on the camcorder, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, wouldn't it be better to play it on a TV?"

Blank looks from Ginny, Eva and Ron. Harry, however, looked interested.

"But we don't have a TV," he objected. "Let alone all the cables you would need to fix that up."

"The Room of Requirement can supply all that."

"The what?" Eva asked.

Harry grabbed Ron and Hermione. "Ginny, meet us with Eva at the Room of Requirement," he instructed, before hurrying off.

"What's the Room of Requirement," Eva repeated to her friend. As they climbed the stairs to their dorm, Ginny explained.

* * *

"Wow," Eva breathed. "I can't believe something that amazing even exists."

"It's fantastic. And if when you're in there you think of something small you'd need, it'll appear nearby. Like once, when Harry wanted a whistle, there was one lying on a bookshelf."

Eva began to rummage through her trunk, pulling items out and handing them to Ginny.

"Robes, robes, brush, book, book, book."

Ginny groaned. Surprised, Eva turned around. The redhead was staggering under the weight of Eva's belongings.

"Oh, sorry!" she gasped. "Put them on my bed."

Ginny tried to put them down carefully, but the pile fell and tipped everywhere.

"Bloody hell, Eva. How many books do you need? You're as bad as Hermione."

Eva grinned at her. "Most of them are books from Hogwarts. I wanted to take them on holiday with me so I could read them there. The books in the Malfoy library aren't exactly light reading."

Ginny eyed the title of one of the top books. "This one's about Death Eaters though," she objected. "That's not light reading, either."

Eva laughed. "It's really interesting. It's this fiction genre, called fanfiction. And it's really amazing, look."

She picked up another book from her bed. _I, Too, Shall Follow_was written across the front. Leafing to the back of the book, she showed Ginny the blank pages. "This is the sequel to that one. It updates itself as the author, notwolf, writes more of it."

"Yeah, Percy told us all about that once. Hermione said it was like an invention in the Muggle world, bogging or something."

"Really? Wonder who thought of it first." Pulling her hand from her trunk, she grinned in triumph. "Found it!"

She handed the camcorder to Ginny, who looked at it, fascinated. "My dad would love this," she grinned.

"_I think mine did too."_ Eva thought. She looked at the mess spread out on her bed and groaned. "Seventh floor, portrait of Barnabas the Barmy?"

"Yeah," Ginny said distractedly.

"You go ahead. I'll clear this up and follow you."

"Sure?"

"Yep. Go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

Ginny left, holding the camcorder tightly in her hands. Sighing, Eva began to throw things back into the trunk.

"Never let myself put things away in cupboards, do I?" She remarked to herself. "It's as if I think I'm going to be moved into a different room all of a sudden, or told to go."

"_Don't say that!" _A part of her mind screamed.

"Oh come on, saying 'told to go' won't make it happen."

"_It's still tempting fate." _

She snorted. "What kind of Gryffindor am I," she chided. "Scared to say a few words."

_"They're words that could ruin your life. Besides, haven't you asked that question before?"_

"Well, it still applies. I don't have a clue why that stupid hat put me in this house. I'm not brave, I'm not noble."

_"Where else would you have gone? Hufflepuff? Hardworking, loyal, true? Not likely. Ravenclaw? Hardly, you're failing half your lessons."_

"That's not my fault," she defended weakly. "It's a bit hard, starting school in your fifth year."

_"You had some experience. Draco taught you."_

"Draco." she said in a despairing fashion. "I've seen him every Christmas Eve and Boxing Day for the past five years, and he always said how he wished he didn't have to do these big social events on Christmas Day, how he wished he could just have a quiet Christmas with me, with presents and chatting. Now he could, and instead he lurked in his room for the whole two weeks. Handed me my present as soon as we got home and vanished."

_"What, you didn't believe him, did you? Believe that he wanted to hang around with you? Why would he? Nobody would want to spend Christmas Day with you. All you are is a social retard, who never says anything that isn't sarcastic and specialises in ignoring people. Arrogant, stupid, Death Eater. You know what they call you._

"It's not true. They're wrong. It's their fault that they can't see I'm too scared to just talk to them. When have I ever had experience of that. Until June I'd only met two people who wanted to talk to me, one of whom didn't know how to speak without liberal helpings of sarcasm and the other of whom was a house-elf!"

"_Too scared, too scared."_ The mocking voice continued. "_And you call yourself Gryffindor? You're just a frightened, insecure little child. All these walls, meant to hold people away. And look where that'll get you. You'll end up like your father. Death Eater. Fetching and carrying for the Dark Lord. Murdering and torturing for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."_

_"_I would never do that!" She hurled the clothes she was holding onto the floor. To her surprise, there was a sound like the crash of falling glasses. She bent down and gingerly unfolded the clothes.

There, among her robes, was a heap of shattered glass. "And what were you, before you turned into fragments?" she asked suspiciously. "And more to the point, how did you get in my trunk?"

Unsurprisingly, no answer was forthcoming. "No doubt you were responsible for that mini-breakdown I just had," she remarked.

"_Not that any of that was untrue." _

She looked sharply at the glass, but it merely twinkled innocently at her. "I think that little thought was all me," she mused. "But just in case, you're not staying in this room for a moment longer."

She scooped all of the fragments into a flask, before sealing it firmly then shaking the robes out of the window to remove the last bits. Finally she left the room, firmly resolved on throwing the flask into the first bin she saw.

* * *

**You may have noticed my 'subtle' attempts at advertising another fanfic there. It's very good, it's called _Beginnings of A Death Eater_, by _notwolf_ and there's a sequel called (can you guess?)_ I, Too, Shall Follow. _They're about how Lucius Malfoy became a Death Eater, then the sequel follows the events moving on. I haven't described it very well - read it and you'll understand it better, and like it too! notwolf's Lucius is completely different to mine, and it's really amazing in the way it shows how all the characters are motivated. Read it and review it!**

**And read this and review it!**

**Readers who review are like geese that lay golden eggs. (There's an odd piece of imagery for you. And I don't know if I mean that they are rare, or that they are wonderful. Both, I think!)**

**So, lay that golden egg!**

**x**


	15. Chapter 15

**

* * *

**

Thank you if you reviewed my last chapter! Glad that I got most of you curious about the broken glass object.

**So thanks to SuzieGeorge, notwolf, Arlath's Daughter, PrincessSophie21, Boo81393, sisteralways0894, Likewow5556, gogguli, GeeTiger and rose-by-another-name**

**Now, I want everyone to make the effort to review this chapter because it was hard for me to keep my concentration still enough to write it - it's results day tomorrow and I can barely sit still with nerves!**

**So, you're all going to find out what was on the camcorder that Eva found in her house.**

* * *

As she approached the seventh floor corridor, trying to think of who would have had the motive and the opportunity to slip the glass into her possessions, she saw Ginny waiting for her outside. "We realised you wouldn't be able to get in," the redhead explained, then gave Eva a funny look. "You okay?"

"Fine," Eva reassured her.

Ginny nodded, not entirely convinced. "Here we go then." She knocked on the wall, and, out of nowhere, a door opened. As they made their way inside, Eva gasped.

It was huge, filled with comfy cushions and reclining chairs. Harry and Ron were already sprawled on two of them. Hermione was crouched beside an enormous black rectangle. She looked up and grinned at them. "It's like a home cinema!" she gasped happily. "Everyone at home would kill for a room like this."

"I think most people would," Ginny pointed out, settling into a chair of her own.

As Eva took a cushion, the rectangle flickered into life, a picture appearing. One that was very familiar to Eva, and entirely unknown to the others. Hermione hurried to a chair and turned to watch the screen.

_A boy and a girl were sat on a couch, both trying to look serious._

_"This is the coursework of Remus Lupin and Marlene McKinnon," the girl said formally._

_The boy, who was recognisable to four of those watching as their onetime Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, continued. "We are entering this for the Muggle Studies exam, at Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test Level."_

_Suddenly, the calm was broken. A tall boy, with black shaggy hair bounded over onto the couch. "And I'm Padfoot," he grinned. "**Not**entering for the Muggle Studies NEWT – that is, the Naughtily Excitable – wait, no, that's the wrong thing."_

_A groan could be heard in the background. An attractive red-head came and sat next to the other girl._

She seemed to glance directly at them, and there were sudden intakes of breath from the spectators – her eyes were so like Harry's it was almost eerie.

_"Do you have to be so immature, Black?" She asked._

_"But this way I make Prongs look good by contrast," Sirius protested._

Harry's hand tensed. His father was about to appear on the screen. And there he was. _"Thanks mate," he sighed._

_"Not a problem, old chap."_

_Remus, who had been watching his friends' antics with amusement and slight exasperation, let out a slight cough._

_"D'you reckon we could get back to the coursework any time soon," he asked._

_"Right, sure!" The two boys turned back to the camera._

_Remus continued. "So, as our coursework, we have decided to enter a video diary in the same style as a Muggle's would be. Myself, Marlene, Lily, Sirius, James (both of the last two waved goofily as their names were said) and Peter…" Remus trailed off._

_"Peter?" he called. Behind the couch, Peter Pettigrew appeared._ Harry could not hold in his growl of dislike.

_Remus resumed his narrative. "Anyway, the six of us are going to make weekly entries into this camera."_

* * *

About three scenes later, James, Remus, Sirius and Peter all appeared on screen. _"This," James announced, "is the first broadcast purely from the Marauders. That is, us four. We are the Marauders of Hogwarts!" The other three cheered. "Nobody has come close to matching our prank record, and nobody knows this school like we do." James held up the Marauder's Map. "That is why we could create this. A Map of Hogwarts, with every single person on it. Impressive, huh?"_

* * *

As the clips continued, their frequency (judging from the haircuts) grew less. Then there was another clip of just Lily.

_"So, I'm contributing to this video diary of Marlene's….Don't know what to say really."_

_A voice from behind the camera spoke. "Come on Lily, you're never tongue-tied." A grin could be heard in her tone. "Especially when you're talking to a certain James Potter."_

_"Oh, that doesn't count as talking! It's more yelling. And now we have to do Head Boy and Head Girls stuff together. It's awful, he's always trying to impress me. He actually brought that bloody Snitch along last time. He seems to think I'll find it impressive."_

_"And you don't?"_

_"Hardly. To everyone else he might have got better, but he still won't stop being such an idiot around me." There was the faint traces of a wistful tone in her voice._

* * *

It was just before Christmas, judging from the decorations that could be seen in the background. All six of them were gathered again, chatting about Christmas plans and exchanging presents. Harry's attention was caught by one particular exchange – James handed Lily a little gold box. She gave him a mistrustful look, clearly expecting something like an "James 4 Lily" badge, or a little Golden Snitch, but opened it nonetheless. And pulled out a beautiful pair of flower-shaped gold earrings, with little rubies set in the petals and emeralds at the stem.

_"Merlin…." Marlene was looking over her shoulder. "They're beautiful Lils. They bring out your hair…and your eyes."_

_Lily didn't say anything. She simply handed the earrings to James. His face fell – was she refusing them? But then she lifted up her hair and withdrew the earrings she was already wearing. A delighted grin spreading over his face, he delicately inserted the sharp pin into her ear lobe._

* * *

_It was later the same night, and Lily sat in front of the camera._

_"I can't believe it," she confessed. "They're so gorgeous. But it's so unlike him! He's all brash jokes and cruel pranks. Not subtle compliments or delicate jewellery. That's not the James Potter I know and hate. It's a James Potter I don't know, but….." She was suddenly interrupted by the entry of the man himself._

_"James!" she gasped, jumping up._

_"Oh, sorry," he began to back out. Then paused. "Wait a second. Did you just call me James? Not Potter, or arrogant toerag?"_

_Lily winced. "I figured it was the least you deserved, after such a fantastic gift."_

_"Not a problem. They look better on you than they would have on me anyway."_

_A surprised peal of laughter echoed through the room. Then Lily suddenly frowned. "Why don't you act like this all the time? Like an attractive, intelligent man. Rather than an idiotic, bullying boy."_

_"Didn't you know? Men can't think straight when they're surrounded by so much beauty."_

_Lily laughed again. "So that's the famous Potter charm I've heard so much about, but never seen."_

_"Want to see it more often?"_

_"Definitely."_

_"Then date me. I promise I'll be this James Potter constantly if you do."_

_As they talked, James had come round the couch to stand next to Lily. When she assented, finally, to a date, he clearly couldn't control himself. He swept her up in a kiss. After several long seconds, they broke apart._

* * *

Entries after that became more sporadic. The occasional soliloquy from Lily about James. Some prank-planning sessions from the Marauders. Once the camera was left on by mistake, and they watched a whole evening's worth of Common Room activity before someone in the camera screen realised.

* * *

Finally, the video ended. As they stood and began to stretch sore muscles, Eva looked around the room.

"How did you find this place?" she asked curiously.

"We used it for DA meetings," Hermione explained.

"DA meetings?" She'd heard it referenced a multitude of times, but had never got round to asking what it was.

"Dumbledore's Army," the older girl elaborated. "It was a group where we could learn DADA, since Umbridge wasn't teaching us and we needed to know it."

"Seriously? Lucky you. I think I could do with some of that. At this rate I'm gonna get a T in my OWL – no offence to you and Ginny for helping me, but we can only practise theory, and I've been able to do that since I was reading. The practical stuff though? Snape's trying, but it's difficult to start with a total novice."

"Merlin's beard!" Hermione exclaimed. "Why didn't we think of it before? Harry should teach you, like he did us."

Harry looked over. "It's the least I can do, after…that." He agreed, motioning to the blank TV.

Ron, on the other hand, looked apoplectic. "Am I hearing this right?"

Hermione looked over with narrowed eyes. The two had forgotten their feud momentarily in the events, but now it returned in full force. "Oh, of course, Ronald." She said coldly, angered by the insult to Eva and remembering anew why she and Ron had stopped talking before. "You can decide who is _worthy _of learning how not to be killed." Head held high, she swept out, trailed by Eva and Ginny.

* * *

**Hope you liked this chapter, with all the flashbacks and things, and that I got all the old characters alright.**

**Please review!**

**Even if all you write is "I'm reviewing!"**


	16. Chapter 16

**Happy! Happy! Happy! I don't know if I'm happy because lots of people reviewed, or because I got decent results. Either way, I'm super over-the-moon and jumping for joy. Literally jumping, the ceiling of the rooms below mine is probably shaking. **

**Thank you all for reviewing! I picked up some stars while I was jumping over the moon and the lovely people receiving them are - notwolf, _Jaddabeanx_, alphaMilca, _PrincessSophie21_, AveaJene, _Likewow5556_, The Breeze, _starlinc_, Moromu, _Samara_ _Longbottom_, bsblover17, _Boo81393_, Tribblelet and deserving special mention, _SuzieGeorge_ for her wonderfully long and kind reviews! Oh, and recurring reviewers get two stars!**

**I know this chapter is short, but it was hard to bring myself down to earth to write anything at all! I did though, and I hope you like it because I want other people to be happy! Like I am at the moment! **

**Okay, I'll get on with the chapter now.**

* * *

Eva, however, did not get far. Realising she had left her entire bag in the Room, she doubled back. Only to overhear Ron's protests.

"You can't seriously be considering teaching her, Harry!"

She froze.

Harry's reply was inaudible.

"But you might as well go and teach Draco Malfoy! Or Snape! Actually, why don't we lie down and let You-Know-Who win straight away. After all, when we start teaching Death-Eaters, we've basically given up."

Eva's anger was well and truly roused. The little taunts all year had been one thing, but this was the final straw. She swept round the corridor. They had at least the grace to jump and look guilty, but she ignored this.

"I cannot believe," she hissed, "that you can't get this into your thick skull. I am not my father. I am not my brother. I am not my mother, aunt, uncle, cousin, or any other relative you might dream up. That means I am not a bloody Death Eater! I am _sick _of people like you judging me by what some people who _happen_ to bear the same last name as me did." She raised her hand and slapped Ron hard on the cheek.

Leaning in, her eyes narrow blue slits, she continued at a venomous whisper. "People's nature doesn't run in their blood. After all, if it did, I hear you'd be a kiss-up at the Ministry. Or a school drop-out. Not some pathetic little sidekick, tagging along!" She shouted these last words before turning and running down the corridor.

* * *

"_Hindsight is 20:20,_" she thought ruefully. "_I guess the truth of that never really hit me before now._" She lay on her bed, contemplating what had just happened. She didn't regret speaking out – it was one of her pet annoyances that people still, even once they had found out the truth, blamed her for the acts of every Black and Malfoy, past and present. But thinking it over, she could have said it all in a rational, explanatory tone. Which would have been much more helpful. She groaned and rolled over. "Not to mention missing out the whole slapping part." "_I always knew that temper tantrums were something I should have stopped myself having."_

Much later, driven by the grumbling of her stomach, she descended from her room – only to meet Ron on the stairs. To her horror, he flinched back when she approached. "_I can't be on awkward terms with the brother of my best friend," _she realised.

"Look, Ron," she began.

"No, wait. Let me say my bit first. Sorry about earlier."

She stared at him. "You're sorry? I'm not the one who left that 'conversation' with a hand printed on my face."

Ron's face reddened to match his hair. "Yeah, well. What you said was right enough. People aren't always like their families, especially when they have your childhood."

"They? Know a lot of people raised like me do you?" He flushed deeper, but she cut him off before he could speak again. "Sorry, that was uncalled for. As was me losing my temper and going off on you like that. It wasn't even directed at you, mostly. It was everyone, but I couldn't exactly go yell at the whole school, could I?"

"You could try, but I don't think McGonagall would approve."

She chuckled. "I'm guessing no."

It was with great surprise that Ginny, (and an even greater surprise for Harry) saw the two of them enter the Great Hall together, before splitting up to rejoin their respective friends.

Ginny stared at her dark-haired friend. Then, she reached across and pinched her firmly on the arm.

"Ow!" Eva jumped back. "What was that for?"

"I must be dreaming. You and my brother, talking?"

Eva glared at the other girl. "You know that you're supposed to pinch _yourself _to check if you're dreaming, right?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

Eva rolled her eyes.

* * *

**Short, yes. But hopefully good? or at least review-worthy!**

**If it's not good, you know what to do...click that button and tell me (and if you don't know what to do by now, I can't help you)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Another chapter! Thank you if you reviewed and told me to update.**

**You extended my happiness right through the Bank Holiday, and it even lasted until I was at work!**

**That means thank you to: SuzieGeorge! notwolf! Boo81393! Likewow5556! pstibbons! talapadme! sisteralways0894! Td0307! Sakura12! GeeTiger! PrincessSophie21! Samara Longbottom! gogguli! TabbyCat1220! Aaaand Tribblelet! **

**(I don't know why I've put them with exclamation marks! I just felt like it! :D )**

* * *

It was lucky that Eva had reconciled with Ron when she had – mere weeks later, he ended up in the Hospital Wing and she'd have hated to be suspected as having anything to do with it.

As it was, it was all she could do to calm Ginny down when she heard the news.

"What do you mean, poisoned? Who the hell would have poisoned him?!"

She was shouting at the first year who had had the misfortune to relay the message to her.

"Don't worry," Luna soothed, her hand on Ginny's arm, while Eva shooed the little first year away.

Ginny broke free. "Don't worry? Someone is trying to kill people at this school and my brother was latest in line. Who could do this? It's his birthday for Merlin's sake!" She started to run off towards the Hospital Wing.

"Do you think Hermione knows?" Eva asked.

"She will soon," Luna sighed, drifting off in the direction of the library, where Hermione was most likely to be found.

"I guess that means I'm following Ginny," Eva muttered, before racing after her friend.

But when she reached the Hospital Wing, she was not allowed in. An irate Madam Pomfrey flatly refused to let any more people into the room, especially non-family members.

After a short and futile argument, Eva slumped against the wall by the door. Suddenly she heard a voice.

"Don't they want a fake Gryffindor in there?" it asked in mock surprise.

"I'm not a bloody fake Gryffindor," she snapped, whirling on whoever had spoken. Only to come face to face with Draco.

"Draco!" she gasped, and hugged him. He stepped back.

"Picked up some bad habits of those Muggle-lovers, Eva. Hugging someone? Whatever next?"

She glared at him. "Where have you been? I've been trying to talk to you for ages, but you disappear every time that I try."

"I've been…busy," he answered evasively.

"Busy doing what?"

"Nothing." He changed the subject. "So what's going on in there?"

"Ron drank something of Slughorn's. Apparently it was poisoned." She was too busy trying to stare through the solid door to notice Draco's expression change and, when she looked back, the fleeting look had gone.

"Pity," Draco drawled sarcastically.

"Oh, stop being so annoying! He could have died!"

"And I care why?"

She turned to look at him properly, fixing his grey eyes with a steely stare. "Because he's a human being? Because he's only seventeen? Because it's his birthday?" She shook her head in disbelief. "I know it's been a long time since we talked, Draco, but you can't have changed that much."

"I was only joking," he muttered defensively.

"It wasn't funny," she replied coldly, and turned her back. After a few moments of staring blankly at the back of her head, Draco took off. She watched him go in the reflection of the brass doorknob, and felt a horrible worm of doubt rise up. She'd repaired the glass that she had found in her luggage, and found it was a little sphere, filled with glowing green liquid. On researching it, she eventually discovered that it was a Dubitater, which was supposed to 'exacerbate and bring to the surface the doubts of the holder.'

But she'd found it in "Mental Malestrom: Dark Objects Which Mess With your Mind". _"It wasn't in your luggage before you went, Eva. And you didn't leave your trunks alone once you reached Hogwarts. So it was Luna on the train, or Draco. And which one of those people is most likely to have access to Dark objects?"_

Once more, she pushed these thoughts away. _"Draco loves me! He cared for me when nobody else did. Why would he do that?"_

Sighing, she turned and walked away. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Unless you fancy life with only three limbs, move that hand." She snapped.

The hand wasn't moved.

She turned, expecting Draco. "I said, take it-" but she was wrong. Colin Creevey, a boy from her year, was in front of her.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I thought it was someone else."

"Someone who is in a lot of danger, by the sound of it."

_"You don't know the half of it," _she thought sadly. "Mmm" she said aloud.

"So, how's Ron?" Colin asked.

"Doing better. He's not walking around yet, but he's out of danger."

"Great. Awful, having that happen on your birthday."

Colin continued to chatter as they walked back to the Common Room, effectively drawing Eva out of her unhappiness.

His persistence was incredible. Whilst Luna had got past Eva's barriers by merely ignoring any defensive insults and Ginny and Hermione had surprised her so much on that first night that she'd never put them up, Colin had wormed his way through by sheer perseverance. He hadn't been put off by the put-downs she fired at him. She couldn't remember exactly when she'd given up trying, though it had happened so smoothly that she hadn't noticed.

"_And now I have a vast circle of friends, consisting of a full six people." _she thought sarcastically.

* * *

**Review! **

**Come on, then I'll update again before I return to school and more drudgery.**

**:D Although once I get there, you know I'll update rather than do homework.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Merci pour votre reviews - SuzieGeorge, Boo81393, notwolf, Likewow5556, Samara Longbottom, PrincessSophie21, gogguli, Arlath's Daughter and Tribblelet.**

**Je ne sais pas pourquoi - No, I don't know why I'm writing in French either. Probably because I've just gone back to school and will never need it again, so I can remember it all. Whereas Biology, which I'm supposed to be studying...**

**Anyway, enough of my problems! It's time for Eva's life, and the spring term at Hogwarts. **

**Please, this way to read and once you've read, remember to review!**

**Particularly because you have to decide whether I should write a sequel, or end it in this story. Either way, you have two chapters to tell me. So tell me soon!**

**Would you read a sequel? Review it? Let me know!**

* * *

The best moment of those months had to be the first snowfall. They had all been sat in Transfiguration when someone had gasped "It's snowing!"

Instantly, like moths to a flame, the students clustered towards the window.

"It's not the first time it's snowed, and it won't be the last. There's no need to go and watch it now," McGonagall had said severely.

And slowly, reluctantly, the children had obeyed. At last only Eva had still stood there, her hands pressed against the glass. "_It's just like Draco described," _she thought happily. "_So white and pretty. And it's falling so fast."_

Already the ground was carpeted with a thin white layer. To her delight, the snowflakes did not melt away as they touched the ground but began to pile up.

"Miss Malfoy."

Eva jumped. McGonagall was standing right in front of her. But her face wasn't particularly angry. "Take your seat. The snow will still fall whether you watch it or not. And it will be there when the lesson finishes."

Eva returned to her seat, but she couldn't have recalled another word of the lesson, constantly darting glances towards the window. McGonagall could see this clearly but chose to let it go; it was understandable.

The instant that the class was dismissed, they bolted downstairs, Eva at the front of the pack. Laughing, they tumbled out into the already-thick snow.

A smile appeared on Eva's face, so wide that it seemed her cheeks must split.

"You're acting like you've never seen snow before," Colin commented from beside her.

"I haven't," she replied dreamily, reaching out a palm to catch the falling flakes. Suddenly she snapped out of it. "I mean-" she started, trying to put her guard back up, but Colin had gone.

Ginny was standing there now, grinning at Eva's overjoyed expression. "Is this what you were like about everything when you came here."

Eva nodded, embarrassed. "I'm glad nobody saw me when it first rained. I jumped up and ran outside. Wouldn't come in for ages. And when I first heard birds, singing; I thought I was going mad. I couldn't work out why nobody else was reacting to this chirping noise I could hear."

Before she could spill her secrets further, she felt a smack in the chest. Startled, she looked up. Colin stood in front of her, already packing more snow in his hands.

"That was a snowball," he explained. "When there's snow, you pack it into a ball and throw it." He hurled the missile, this time hitting Ginny right in her mouth as she laughed at Eva.

"Like this," Eva asked, making her own snowball and lobbing it at him. Unfortunately, it missed by about a mile. And hit another girl from their year in the back of the head. The girl turned and glared at Eva, who raised her eyebrows coldly.

"Sorry, thought your hair could do with a bit of wetting," Eva called. Recognising the return of Eva's sarcasm, Ginny elbowed her.

"No insults allowed with snowball fights," she informed.

"Maybe I shouldn't join in," Eva muttered.

"But then how will you get Colin back? Or me?" the redhead asked, throwing her own snowball at Eva, point-blank range. "Just drop the sarcasm for an afternoon. Pretend we're all Luna, Hermione and me. You're not nasty with us, don't be nasty now.

Taking Ginny's advice, Eva let down her guard for one, blissful afternoon. And joined in her first ever snowball fight.

* * *

Eva had never expected Harry to come through on his agreement to teach her – especially with his growing distrust of Malfoy. But only half-way through March, he did just that.

"Are you still looking for some help in Defence?" he asked one evening, as they all sat in the Great Hall eating dinner.

She nearly choked on her mouthful of treacle tart. "Seriously?" she replied in disbelief.

"Sure, why not?"

She decided not to even start on the long list of reasons 'why not' and accept her good luck.

* * *

Two days later, they stood in front of the Room of Requirement. Harry paced back and forth, muttering under his breath.

He did this three times, then turned and looked at the wall. To his surprise, nothing had happened. He tried again. And again. Then another three times, until Eva stopped him.

"What's going on?" she questioned.

"It won't let me in," he murmured. "I don't get it….it's never done that before." _Apart from when I was trying to get in with Malfoy? _

"Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Yes," he replied shortly.

"Maybe it's not working right now?" she suggested.

"I guess…." Sighing, he turned away from the wall. "Sorry, Eva. I suppose we'll have to try again some other time."

"Thanks. I'm sure it'll work again soon. Don't worry about it."

He smiled at her slightly absently, before leaving along the corridor. She stared at the wall with narrowed eyes for a few more minutes, then turned to follow him. She had barely got round the corner, however, when she heard a little girl's voice whispering.

She frowned and peeked back to the corridor. The little girl who had been stood there when she and Harry had arrived had returned and was tapping on the wall and muttering something. To her shock, a door appeared from nowhere in the wall.

But that was nothing to her surprise when she saw who left.

"Draco?" she gasped.

The blonde Slytherin spun around, looking extremely guilty.

"Eva?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I really don't think that's the question, do you? What were you doing in there?"

His usual sneer firmly in place, he raised one eyebrow. "I don't think you really want to know."

"Well, I do."

"Well," he mimicked, "I don't. See you later."

He turned to leave. "Wait!" Eva burst out, but it was too late. He had vanished along the corridor and she was talking to empty air.

She stared where her brother had been. '_What were you doing? Who was that little kid? Who are you and what did you do with my brother?' _The questions flooded her brain. It was too much. She rushed towards the tapestry, turning back and forth three times as her lip began to shake and moisture welled up in her eyes.

'_I will not burst out crying in the middle of the corridor,' _she instructed herself firmly. Finally, to her relief, the door appeared and she darted in. Barely noticing her surroundings, she slid to the floor on the other side of the door and began to sob, her face in her hands. _"How can he lie to me? We promised we'd always trust each other, no matter what else happened. Have I changed so much that he can't believe I'd understand? What could he have done so awful that I wouldn't understand?"_

* * *

**I don't like writing Draco and Eva arguing :( But I got to balance it out by writing the snow scene. **

**Hope you liked them both**

**Review! And don't forget the sequel question. **

**Besides, if you review, you actually do get cookies. I'm baking oaty cookies right now, for a bun sale tomorrow! So review (and turn up to a bun sale in England :D ) and you'll get cookies! And if you can't make it, I'll eat them for you, being a noble sort of person.**

**:D**


	19. Chapter 19

**Yay! Thanks for reviewing - drinehart, gogguli, PrincessSophie21, SuzieGeorge, Jaddabeanx, Likewow5556, notwolf, cyiusblack, Moromu, Boo81393, The Breeze, Tribblelet and (deep breath) Insane Elvish Vampire Pirate And The Demented Hobbit Ninja (that's all one name)(and I'm not insulting it, I swear. it's a great name :D )**

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**Keep reviewing!**

* * *

It was a long time before Eva's tears cleared away, and she could clearly see the room that she had taken refuge in. But once she did, she was astonished. It was the biggest room she had ever seen, larger even than the Great Hall and far more magnificent than what it had been on her last visit. And it was filled with all sorts of objects, piled on top of each other until they reached the ceiling, stretching too in every direction around her.

Her tears forgotten for a moment, Eva began to wander through the towers of artifacts, magical and not. Half in a dream, she nearly walked straight into the open door of a dark cabinet.

"Oops," she murmured aloud, and shut the door firmly onto the empty closet. She looked around again. There was a stone bust teetering on top of a pile of books. Darting forward, she caught it before it fell. The objects that had been on top, including a garishly coloured wig and a tiara, slid into her arms. She nearly staggered under the weight. It was far heavier than she had expected.

Muscles aching, she lowered the statue to the floor. Then everything that had gathered in her arms followed it, raining down around the statue.

She stared at the scattered objects, and the tiara, which had miraculously fallen back onto the statue's head.

"That's beautiful," she sighed, fingering the delicate silver patterns. Noticing a mirror behind her, she lifted the crown to put it on her head.

An inner voice stopped her before she got half way. "_What in the name of Merlin are you doing? Pretending to be a fairy tale?" _Eva blushed, astonished as ever that her thoughts had the power to embarrass her.

"_Besides," _the internal voice continued, more severely this time, "_Don't you think it's a bad idea to put an unidentified magical object on your head. You have no idea what it could be!"_

"It's in Hogwarts!" she protested. "It's not like I found it while wandering around the Manor."

"_And nobody evil has ever come to Hogwarts? Your brother was in here. For all you know, he could have been in this room and transfiguring that crown to curse someone."_

"Draco wouldn't do that!" Eva snapped.

"_He put that doubt-thing in your trunk."_

"You don't know it was him," she said, but her argument sounded weak even to her own ears. Reluctantly, she returned the tiara to the statue and found her way out again, not trusting herself to be able to escape the maze-like corridors if she went much further.

* * *

It was a beautiful Spring. Despite the all-too-imminent exams and despite the ever-present shadow of Voldemort, it should have been blissful. Eva's life had never been better. She'd finally discovered the meaning of the phrase 'laughing until you cry' during the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor Quidditch match whilst listening to Luna's commentary.

She, Luna and Ginny were getting on better than ever. Hermione had started to hang around with the other two members of the Trio since Ron's hospitalisation, but as Ron and Eva were now on good terms, they could all sit together as a group of six without arguing. Neville joined them occasionally, though he continued to act oddly around Eva and never spoke to her. In return, she never spoke to him, or indeed spoke normally while he was there, preferring to retreat behind her walls of insults.

They spent many enjoyable afternoons just sat by the Lake, underneath an old beech tree, passing hours away in idle conversation.

Even her lessons seemed to be going better – though she was some way behind the class in Transfiguration and Herbology, but was at least hoping to scrape an 'Acceptable' in the OWLs. But Harry had either forgotten about his promise to tutor her, or he'd given up when he realised that it was impossible to get into the Room of Requirement.

That was the single cloud on her horizon. Despite constant attempts to interrogate him, Draco stubbornly refused to tell her even a single thing about what he was doing inside the Room. She could do nothing but watch as he disappeared into there at least once a day.

She did just that, making a variety of excuses for why she had to leave her friends. And then she took up a post by the wall, ready to wait for Draco to emerge. She had good reason to thank her advanced Charms skills, as she had to use a Disillusionment Charm each time, to stop the little girls who hung around there from noticing her, not to mention Draco when he finally emerged. It took her several weeks to realise who exactly the little girls were – and then she had to clap a hand over her mouth as the uncontrollable giggles escaped at the thought of those two bruisers, Crabbe and Goyle, taking Polyjuice to become scared-looking first-years.

One day, though, she approached the seventh-floor corridor to find it already occupied. Harry was there, pacing up and down. She froze and listened intently.

He was muttering, not to himself, but to the Room. "I need to see what Draco Malfoy is doing inside you…"

She slumped against the wall. Despite all her efforts to the contrary, despite her betrayal of her friends to keep her silence, someone had discovered this anyway. A small part of her couldn't help but be happy though. '_At least now, someone will find out what he's doing that makes him look so awful and put a stop to it,' _she reasoned.

She knew that their first concern wouldn't be Draco's welfare, but the Dark secrets they were convinced he was hiding – regardless of her repeated attempts to persuade them otherwise, she hadn't managed to turn any of the others into thinking of Draco without hostility.

However, Eva couldn't care about any of that right then – she had to get out of there. Silently, she turned and crept back the other way.

As she walked, she smacked into someone. "Ever considered investing in eyes?" she snapped angrily. "Stops you from walking into people."

"Well, pardon me!" The other person snapped in a female voice. Looking up, Eva saw that it was someone from her year, a Hufflepuff.

"Okay." Eva replied coolly and carried on walking.

"Huh?" the girl asked in bewilderment.

"I pardon you," Eva called. "You're welcome."

Glaring at Eva, the Hufflepuff turned away, muttering about 'arrogant little Malfoy, just like her brother.'

If this had been an isolated event, it would have made little difference. Unfortunately, Eva always did this. She knew that it didn't help; knew that her sarcasm and her insults pushed people away. However, she didn't dare let them go. They were her shield, her defence against people she didn't know. And by this point, everyone expected her to act like that. And they weren't disappointed.

* * *

**Read. Review. And smile! **

**Have a nice day/evening/night/morning. Or, if you don't want to, don't. it's really up to you. As long as you review first**

**x**


	20. Chapter 20

**I thank you for your reviews - Insane Elvish Vampire Pirate And The Demented Hobbit Ninja, cyiusblack, Likewow5556, gogguli, talapadme, notwolf, PrincessSophie21, Arlath's Daughter, Tribblelet, Samara Longbottom and SuzieGeorge**

**I ask you to review - anyone who isn't reviewing**

**Sorry if you think this update took a while - blame the start of college.**

**I hope you're all liking the story. **

**Please, read and enjoy.**

* * *

Eva laughed. "Seriously? They did that? Didn't your mum go ballistic?"

Ginny grinned mischievously as they walked down the steps from their dorm room to the Gryffindor common room. "Depends if your definition of ballistic involves shouting at levels that would put a megaphone to shame."

The two girls were enjoying a brief rest from the frantic pace at which their teachers were driving them for their OWLs and were in a fantastic mood. Of course, Ginny had been in a pretty good mood ever since breaking up with Dean.

At the entrance to the Common Room, a first-year clambered through the portrait. And a blonde figure brushed past him. Eva and Ginny both blinked in surprise as they recognised her.

"Luna?" Ginny questioned in confusion. "You know you can't come into the Gryffindor Common Room?"

Luna looked slightly surprised. "I can't?" she asked, but the bemused expression did not last long. This, more than anything, alerted Eva that something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked in surprise. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But your brother's not. He's in the hospital wing."

Ginny reacted with panic, bolting down the rest of the stairs to where Luna stood.

"Again? What's happened?"

Luna shook her head quietly. "No, Ginny."

"No?" the redhead cried frantically. "What do you mean, no?"

"Ron's not hurt."

"So it's Fred, or George? Or Charlie, or-"

Luna cut her off, as Eva had now reached them. The Ravenclaw turned to look at her. "Eva, it's Draco."

The words smashed into Eva's skull like a battering ram. She staggered slightly, disbelieving. "Draco? It can't be, he can defend himself perfectly. Besides, who would attack him?"

The blonde girl avoided the question, and didn't think of how quickly Eva's mind had jumped to an attack rather than an accident. "He was in a boys' bathroom. Snape sent me to get you."

"Snape? What does he have to do with it?" Eva's mouth seemed to be making these queries of its own accord. Her mind was still reeling from the news.

Their conversation was abruptly cut off as a soaking wet, blood-stained Harry Potter burst into the Common Room. He grabbed his bag and bolted back out again.

Eva's legs, also working independently of her brain, decided to follow him. She didn't know what had happened, but surely the two things must have been connected. One boy in the Hospital Wing, the other covered in blood?

'_Maybe they were attacked, maybe whatever Draco's been doing in the Room of Requirement exploded and Harry was there, maybe…'_

Her brain ran on a constant track of 'maybe'. At last she caught up with Harry just as he reached the seventh floor.

"Harry!" she called, meaning to ask what had happened to Draco. But the questioning words died on her lips. She saw the traces of a magical battle on Harry's robes and the wand still held loosely in his trembling hand, but mostly she saw the guilty expression on his face.

"You…." She murmured.

"Eva," he attempted.

"NO!" she suddenly screamed. Moving eerily fast, she shoved him, hard. Despite his age, strength and size advantage, he was taken by surprise and fell to the floor. "What did you do!" she continued, looming over him. "How did you hurt him! Why?" Her black curls were wild round her face, giving her a terrifying resemblance to Bellatrix.

Harry scrambled to his feet. "I didn't mean to," he gabbled. "I didn't know what the spell did, I swear."

"So you thought 'sure, let's use it!' It's only Malfoy, only a filthy Death Eater! He's not a teenager like me, he's a guinea pig who DESERVES to have spells tested on him!" She flew at him, and, wand forgotten, began hitting and scratching him furiously.

"I was desperate!" He cried in defence, as he tried to fend her off. From the direction of the Common Room, Ginny and Luna approached and tried to help, holding Eva back. "He was crying, and he attacked me and I fell, and I just thought of it. And then there was all this blood-"

Eva's frantic attack broke off suddenly. Her hands froze. Harry gladly took the opportunity to back away. "Blood?" she whispered, suddenly asking help from the enemy she had been attacking mere seconds ago. "How badly hurt was he?"

"I, I don't know. Snape did something though, and he seemed fine."

But Harry's reassurances fell on deaf ears. Eva had wheeled around and darted back along the corridor. Exchanging a worried glance, Luna and Ginny ran after her.

* * *

**Um, review?**

**Can't think of a way to persuade you to...um...I know! If you don't, I'll let loose my pet pixies and they'll come attack you? Or I'll change the original story and make Draco die! hah! :D**

**How's that?**

**x**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks, reviewers! -** **AveaJene, Keiri Bradon, Boo81393, Samara Longbottom, notwolf, Insane Elvish Vampire Pirate And The Demented Hobbit Ninja, Likewow5556, PrincessSophie21, cyiusblack, SuzieGeorge, Jaddabeanx, Tribblelet, gogguli and last, but quite probably least, Arlath's Daughter (Oh, relax. You know I'm kidding. Don't stop reviewing out of insult. You're definitely not least.)**

**Please review again next time. x**

**And everyone, calm down. There will be no pixies, ready to attack. AND THERE WILL BE NO KILLING OF DRACO (yet). Alright? People, calmness is good (sometimes) Draco is alive and well (at least as alive and well as a fictional character can be. :D)**

**The story? Shall we proceed?**

* * *

The doors of the Hospital Wing slammed open. Madam Pomfrey looked up, ready to scold the student who had so rashly disturbed her sanctum, but, when she saw it was Eva, looked down again.

Eva hurried over to Draco's side. His eyes were closed and she stifled a gasp at how pale he looked.

"Is he…is he okay?" she asked nervously.

"He should be fine, Miss Malfoy. He will probably always have these scars, but they are very faint." She indicated pale scars on Draco's chest. Although they were almost completely gone, Eva could still see how deep they had been. Her blood chilled. If help hadn't been gotten in time….

"What happened?" she asked the school nurse.

"Don't ask me," the woman grumbled. "All I know is that Professor Snape came in here, half-carrying him. His wounds were nearly healed when I got to him though- hang on, where are you going?"

The last words were shouted after Eva's retreating back. The black-haired girl continued to run away, down several flights of staircases, to wait outside the Staff Room.

Finally Snape approached. His thin mouth was twisted in a scowl, and his presence was incredibly intimidating. Still, Eva stepped into his path. He stopped suddenly and began to glare at her.

"Out of my way, Miss Malfoy."

"Professor, what happened to Draco?"

"I feel that is something you should be asking your 'friend', Potter," he sneered.

"Sir, pl-." Eva cut herself off. She would not beg him to tell her what had happened.

Thankfully, she didn't have to. Snape relented.

"Apparently, he and Potter were arguing in the sixth floor boys' bathroom and Potter managed to cast a particular Dark Curse. However, this is second-hand. I was alerted by Moaning Myrtle, where I found Draco on the floor-"

But for the second time that day, Eva was running away from a staff member before they completed their sentence. With an almost manic glint in her eye, she was heading up to the second-floor bathroom that Moaning Myrtle was known to inhabit.

Behind her, the Staff Room door opened. "I cannae have heard that right, Severus," a Scottish voice proclaimed. "Potter _cursed _Malfoy?"

Eva was no longer around to hear McGonagall's fury. By this point, she was sitting in the haunted bathroom, awaiting the arrival of a certain ghost.

At last, the aforementioned spectre whooshed out of a tap. Behind her spectacles, her eyes were glowing with the excitement of it all.

"You're Myrtle, yes?" Eva jumped straight in.

"Yes," Myrtle replied, "So?"

"What happened?" Eva demanded.

Moaning Myrtle bristled slightly at the tone, but the prospect of relating her tale once more proved greater than her hurt pride. "That poor boy was crying again-"

"Harry was crying?" Eva asked in disbelief.

"No! The other one, the blond one. He's very sweet, and sensitive. I've comforted him quite a few times now…."

"Draco's been crying?" Eva was stunned. She'd never, ever seen her brother cry.

Myrtle glared at her. "There _are_ other people who want to hear this story. I can go talk to them if you can't stop interrupting."

"No, I'm sorry. So, Draco was crying…"

"Yes, he was. So upset. I was trying to get him to tell me what was wrong, when Harry came running in. Then, well, it all happened so fast. They were fighting, flashes and bangs everywhere and, oh, it was awful." Her voice practically brimmed with glee.

"What was awful?"

"There was so much blood…I thought for a second that he'd be coming to join me. Of course, I did the right thing. I called for Professor Snape, who came and started chanting this spell. It seemed to do the trick, but he was quite angry…He told Harry to stay here, then when he returned, he ordered me out!"

Eva was no longer listening. There was so much information whirling around in her mind. '_Draco nearly died…..Harry cursed Draco….Snape saved him…..Harry must have used pretty dark magic to do that…..Draco's always going to have a scar……Draco's been crying here quite often…..Draco's upset about something.'_

"You're sure he didn't mention what he was upset about?"

Myrtle sighed. "No, not really. He was always very touchy about that. Said he couldn't tell me, for my sake. He was always saying "I have to, but it won't work. If I don't do it soon, he'll kill me. He'll kill her." She sniffed dramatically. "I suppose I was the her. Quite odd, to refer to me in the third person like that, but I'm sure he was just protecting me."

"It won't work?" Eva asked. "What wouldn't work?"

"I don't know, but he was very fond of that phrase. I think that must be what he was upset about. Probably some horrible bullies wanted him to do some homework for him, and it wouldn't work."

Eva nodded absently, and turned to leave.

"Aren't you even going to thank me?" Myrtle's outraged voice fell on empty air.

* * *

Eva stood outside the Hospital Wing doors. The fury that had sustained her this far was fading, and now worry began to overtake her. She waited, under her Disillusionment Charm, for Draco's admirers to leave. Finally, Pansy, the last of them, was gone, bidding Draco a tearful farewell mixed with promises to 'give Potter what he deserved.'

Eva slipped inside. Her brother still lay on a bed. His cheeks were no less white, and his eyes were no less shadowed.

"Hey, brother." She whispered softly.

He sat up sharply, then winced slightly. "Who's there?" he asked in panicked tone.

"Sorry," she muttered sheepishly, and removed the Charm. "Forgot I had that on."

"Eva." He said flatly.

"Merlin, Draco. I stop watching you for a second and you nearly go get yourself killed?" She tried to joke.

"Yeah well. It was your new best friend Potter that did it. Don't you want to be with him, commiserating how he didn't quite manage to knock me off?"

The colour flushed angrily into Eva's cheeks. "How dare you!" She realised she was shouting and lowered her tone a fraction. "How could you say that I'd want you dead? Have you forgotten who I am?"

"Some unwanted offspring who Father didn't manage to kill thoroughly enough?"

She raised a hand to slap him, but let it fall. "I'm your sister!" she hissed. "You used to know that. What's happened to you? Who's doing this to you? If you think you can push me away to keep me safe-"

"It's not me who's different, _sis_. It's you. You've become just like the rest of them. Muggle-loving cretins who are too blind to see where the true power lies. And you're not my sister. No foolhardy, bleeding-heart Gryffindor could ever be my sister."

She stumbled back from the bed. "Draco, you're injured. You don't know what you're saying."

He raised himself on his arms. "No, Evelna, _I'm _fine. You're the one who has betrayed her blood, and her heritage."

The use of her full name finally broke through Eva's defences. "No, I...you.."she whispered.

"Yes. Now go. I'm tired." And with that pronouncement, he turned on his side and closed his eyes.

Eva turned and fled the room. Once outside, she began to wander the corridors blindly, not caring where she went.

A hand reached out and stopped her.

"Eva?" a gentle voice asked. "How are you?"

It was Luna. Eva looked at the blonde girl. Her hair was tied back with what looked like the twisted stems of several plants, and her silvery eyes were overflowing with concern. Eva was conscious of everyone watching them.

Suddenly filled with an irrational irritation towards her friend, Eva yanked her arm out of Luna's grasp. "Can't you tell?" She snapped. "Don't I have Blue-Tongued Flundales round my head? Or maybe Tristnets? Merlin, Loony, can't you ever just leave me alone?"

She stormed off. Luna's expression, as always, remained impenetrable, even unconcerned, but the way she stood frozen in the middle of the corridor, hand still outstretched, told a different story.

* * *

**See, Draco is fine. But I have the power of life and death over them all, and as such you should review, or I might decide to exercise my power.**

**And I'm very sorry, but I won't be able to update for more than a week - I'm on a trip to Scotland, and I highly doubt they'll have computers on the remote island where our destination is.**

**See you when I get back!**

**Oh, and sorry about my terrible Scottish accent, courtesy of McGonagall. I guess I should take some pointers from the real Scots while I'm up there. **


	22. Chapter 22

**NEW: THIS IS a repost, because I haven't got the alert yet that tells me that I've posted a chapter, so I don't know if the rest of you have. I haven't got any review alerts yet, but some people have apparently reviewed (sorry that I havrn't replied, I'm hoping I'll get the alerts so i can do that) **

**Hey, everyone, I'm back! Well, obviously, but anyway. Thanks if you wished me a good time. It transmitted through the glorious weather at least, if nothing else. And my lack of serious injury, resulting in this update. **

**I did have a day when I was ill though, so some parts of this chapter may be a product of my feverishly delirious brain. Ah well, it normally is.**

**Thanks if you reviewed - Jas120, Princepessas, padsy, Boo81393,** **notwolf, gogguli, Likewow5556, PrincessSophie21, cyiusblack, SuzieGeorge, Arlath's Daughter, Tribblelet, Insane Elvish Vampire Pirate And The Demented Hobbit Ninja** **and talapadme. Sunshine and daisies to you all (unless you have hayfever, in which case I'll send a sunshine with leaves instead)**

**Please review again, and keep reading.**

* * *

Eva spent the next few days diligently avoiding everyone. If she saw Harry or the rest of the Trio coming down a corridor, she would quickly turn back on herself to walk in the other direction. If she noticed Ginny approaching ahead, she would dart round the nearest corner. If she ever caught sight of Draco, she slipped into the closest empty classroom. If a head of dirty blonde hair heralded Luna's approach, she cast hasty Disillusionment Charms to hide.

But this couldn't be kept up for long, especially when most of her lessons were shared with Ginny and Luna and when she slept in the same room as Hermione and Ginny. Still, she maintained a stony silence when any of them spoke to her, though that didn't stop them trying.

It wasn't until the Saturday match that it began to dawn on her just how stupid she was being. What had Ginny or Luna ever done to her? Or, for that matter, Ron and Hermione? As for Draco…well, one could forgive him for being in a mood, having just been nearly killed.

She sat morosely in the library, remembering the last Quidditch match. When she had laughed so hard at Luna's commentary, and when she had cheered loudly for Ginny as she flew by. Propelled by an impulse, she got up abruptly and left the quiet, book-filled room.

The match had just ended. Judging from the dispirited faces of the Ravenclaws she was fighting her way through, Gryffindor had won. The students in their blue-trimmed robes glared at her slightly, recognising her as Gryffindor, but she ignored them. At last, she saw up ahead a distinctive and realistic-looking eagle hat.

"Luna!" she called. The other girl looked up. "I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I was just upset, and taking it out on you. I hope we didn't fall out forever."

"We fell out?" the blonde girl asked.

Eva laughed happily. "Not any more, we didn't," she grinned, before hugging her friend firmly. "Sorry," she said, blushing. "I know we don't hug very often, but I felt the occasion warranted it."

"It's alright," Luna assured her. "Hugging friends drives away Hosticoags."

"And we are friends," Eva reminded her. "Best friends."

* * *

The two of them split up once the crowd of Ravenclaws reached their Common Room. Eva made her own way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, trying to think of what to say to Ginny.

Just as she reached the Fat Lady's portrait, however, it swung open. A triumphant Harry and Ginny emerged, their hands firmly linked.

All three students froze. Eva was the first to speak. "Congratulations," she said woodenly.

Harry spoke suddenly. "Eva, I'm sorry. I know that nothing I can say can make it right, that I could have killed your brother, but I am sorry. If it helps at all, I wouldn't have done the curse if I'd known what it was going to do. Not to anyone, especially another student. I…panicked, that's all."

The seconds of silence ticked by. Eva's eyes were like icy blue chips. Then suddenly they softened. She remembered how Harry had held to his promise to teach her defensive magic. She thought of how Harry had not once asked her what Draco was up to, despite his obsession with finding out what the Slytherin boy was doing and his conviction that Draco had nearly led to the deaths of Ron and Katie.

She nodded once. "It's okay." Ginny seemed about to speak. "It's okay," she repeated. "Go enjoy your night together." Calmly, she clambered through the portrait hole and went in search of Ron and Hermione.

* * *

It was only a few days later that Harry came and found Eva. Although they had made up, they had still barely spoken to each other.

"Er. Eva."

She looked up.

He was grinning, as was Ginny. Since getting together mere days ago, the two of them had become virtually inseparable.

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

"You'll find out," Ginny assured her, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. They dragged her down several flights of staircases and along corridors before coming to a halt in front of a portrait of a fruit bowl.

"It's very pretty," she said slowly. "Can I go now?"

Rolling her eyes, Ginny reached forward and tickled the pear on the painting. "That's not what we're showing you," she said, amused.

The portrait swung open to reveal a whole room full of bustling house-elves. They were all running round cooking various things. In the centre of the room, four tables were set out just as the house tables were.

"It's the kitchen!" cried Ginny.

"Great," Eva said, wondering if her friend had fallen and hit her head. "Now I know where they make the food."

But they hadn't finished. They hauled Eva inside and down one side of the room until they suddenly stopped.

"What now?" Eva asked.

"Now comes the surprise," Ginny grinned.

One of the house elves had noticed them and was rushing towards them. He was the only one not dressed in the tea towel uniform, instead choosing to wear an odd variety of clothes, including a bobble hat and two brightly coloured, mismatched socks.

All of a sudden, Eva recognized him. She gasped.

"Dobby!"

The elf was smiling so much that she thought his face would burst. "Miss Eva! Dobby was so pleased when he was told you were at Hogwarts. You are safe now, and happy?"

"Of course I am! I can't believe you've been here all this time. How did I not know you were here? I didn't think where you might have gone. Draco told me you'd been freed, but I never imagined…"

Dobby hugged her, though it was more hugging her hips than anything else.

"How come you never told us about Eva?" Harry asked the elf.

Dobby looked suddenly mournful. "Dobby would have, Harry Potter, if he could. But my masters gave strong orders not to tell anyone, and Dobby could not have broken them, even when he was free."

Eva smiled at him. "It doesn't matter. I got out eventually. And I ended up here, the best possible place to be."

Harry looked at Eva in surprise. He had never thought about it, though now he realized that Eva must see Hogwarts as her home as much as he did.

She was still talking. "I missed you though. You were the first person I ever talked to." She felt her throat choking up. "It was wonderful that you were freed. You deserved better."

Harry and Ginny quietly crept out, leaving the two of them, witch and elf, to catch up on the years and the events they had missed.

* * *

**See, a bit more happiness for Eva. Just like I promised.**

**Now, you do as you all promised and review (I know you didn't promise, but you should have!)**

**x**


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you, my reviewers! Sorry if it took a while before I got to reviewing - like I said, the story alert and review alert systems are acting up and I get your reviews at very odd times. Sorry if anyone isn't on this list, it's probably because of that.**

**So many thanks to: Someone aka Me, DS, SuzieGeorge, gogguli, Princepessas, cyiusblack, PrincessSophie21, Insane Elvish Vampire Pirate And The Demented Hobbit Ninja**, **Boo81393, Arlath's Daughter, notwolf and Likewow5556**

**And as one reviewer suggested, you can all have toffee muffins...if you keep reviewing, and if you go out and buy the ingredients yourself. Sorry, but I don't know how to send baked goods through an Internet connection. Or trust me, I would. Maybe I should have done a Food Technology A Level. Do they teach you how to do that? It;s related to food, and technology, after all.**

**Ignore my mindless ramblings. Let's get to the story!**

* * *

As May became June, relations between Eva and the rest of them returned pretty much to normal. If anything, it was Ron and Hermione who seemed wariest around her, though she couldn't work out why.

But she didn't have the time to spend much thought on the matter. OWLs were approaching at a terrifyingly fast rate, and snatching more than an hour of free time was becoming impossible.

The library became her, Ginny and Luna's second home. Trying as much as she could to respect Draco's wish for secrecy, she had convinced them against using the Room of Requirement and had instead asked McGonagall if they could use her room to practice the practical side of things.

She and Luna were at least glad to see that Harry and Ginny's relationship was flourishing, despite the shortage of time that they could spend together. This wasn't helped by Harry's Saturday detentions with Snape, although Ginny made sure not to mention these around Eva.

One warm evening in June, they were trying to keep their minds focused on Charms revision.

"What is the incantation required to levitate an object?" Ginny asked wearily.

In response, Eva moaned. Luna blinked, seeming to haul back her attention to the present with a great effort.

"Wingardium Leviosa." she answered.

"Correct." Ginny looked at Eva. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Her black-haired friend did seem to be suffering. Her face was drawn and pale. Slowly, Eva shook her head. "I've got a bit of a headache," she sighed. "And looking at these stupid notes isn't helping. Why did I have to write so small?"

"So that you'd concentrate more on the notes when you had to revise them," Luna answered. "That way, you have to pay attention to what you read."

"Well, I didn't factor in the fact that staring at my tiny handwriting is making my head feel like there are a thousand and one pixes hitting it with tiny hammers. Repeatedly. With great force."

Ginny looked at her sympathetically. "Go to bed," she suggested.

"I think I'll do just that." She rose slowly, but that didn't stop the wave of pain that threatened to overwhelm her. She groaned softly. "I'll just go really slowly." Moving like an old woman, she made her way out of the library and headed for Gryffindor Tower.

Once she reached her room, she did not even bother to undress, collapsing directly onto her bed instead. Gratefully, she let sleep claim her.

But her sleep wasn't undisturbed. She had dream after dream of silent rooms, shadows and figures stalking her from the blackness. Abruptly, she woke. '_Breathe, Eva_', she told herself. '_It was a dream. Only a dream.' _

Yet she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. She gazed around her, wondering how to get back to sleep. Then suddenly it hit her. _'Where is everyone?'_

Both Ginny and Hermione's beds were empty. '_Surely she's not still revising.'_ Eva checked the clock. It was past midnight. Frowning, she crept silently out of the dorm and down to the Common Room below. It was empty, and quiet.

Bewildered, she turned away from the couches – and caught, out of the corner of her eye, the sight of two brooms flying towards the Astronomy Tower. She stared for an instant then, as if in a dream, left the Common Room. Padding along, not making a noise, she heard the noises of a battle long before she approached it.

Raised voices could be heard, crying out a variety of curses and hexes. Listening, she could recognise those of her friends.

Ginny was easy to identify, casting her infamous Bat-Bogey Hex.

Neville's voice was also fearful, yet determined, calling, "Stupefy!"

Ron's voice seemed concerned, rather than afraid, but his incantations sounded solid.

The adult voices seemed to merge into a blur, though she did catch McGonagall's distinctive Scottish burr.

She suddenly realised that she was standing on the edge of a battle as her friends fought, seemingly for their lives. Pulling her wand from the pocket where it had rested, she joined the fray.

A brutal-faced man, draped in Death Eater robes, swung and caught sight of her.

"Another little girl?" he asked in delight.

"Stupefy!" Eva cried.

"Protego!" The Death Eater countered just as quickly.

There was no more small talk, just a rapid flurry of curses and shields. As Eva ducked away from the Cruciatus, she caught flashes of the battle. Ginny's red hair swirling round her head as she fought another Death Eater. She saw what looked like an animal leap on a red-haired man, and for an instant her heart leapt into her throat with worry for Ron. But Ron was still standing, back to back with Neville as they fired spells at their opponents.

Her attention was not diverted for long, however, and she barely parried an orange strike from her attacker.

"Impedimenta!" she cried.

"Avada Kedavra," the Death Eater roared. She spun and dodged.

"Petr-" her voice faltered in her throat. She had seen an unmistakeable flash of white-blond hair. '_Draco!' _she called silently, watching the Slytherin disappear up the stairs into the Astronomy Tower.

But her distraction had cost her vitally. With a cruel smile, the Death Eater flicked a final curse at her. The ray of light struck her on her side as she stood twisted away from them.

Her eyes blinked once, surprise etched as clearly on her face before she collapsed. Through eyesight that was blurring, she watched her enemy follow her brother, turning to seal off the passage way as he left.

Then her head slumped to the floor and she knew no more.

**

* * *

**

A slightly melodramatic last line, but I couldn't resist.

**And review. **

**Or I won't resist the temptation to leave it there forever.**

**I mean it this time.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Yay! Lots of reviews! And threats! Wait, that's not a yay. Oh well, I can brush them off. I'm not going round with my own personal bodyguard of pixies. Honest, I'm not. (ssshhh, I don't want them to know about you)**

**Yeah, I'm insane. And so this is a very loopy thank you to: ScarletNoir, Robyn Hawkes, The Breeze, Boo81393, Likewow5556, sisteralways0894, notwolf, Insane Elvish Vampire Pirate And The Demented Hobbit Ninja, gogguli, SuzieGeorge, ds, Someone aka Me, Princepessas and Arlath's Daughter.**

**Last chapter: _Eva heard the battle in the Astronomy Tower, came to see what was going on and joined in the help her friend. But she saw Draco and got distracted, so was hit by a curse from a Death Eater. Was it fatal? Let's read on and find out!_**

* * *

The doors to the Hospital Wing opened; Ginny entered, leading Harry. Gathered around one bed stood Ron, Hermione and Lupin. Neville lay, seemingly asleep, on another. Harry staggered slightly at Hermione's onslaught.

"I'm fine," he replied to Lupin's query. "How's Bill?"

When nobody replied, he looked for himself. The eldest Weasley son was prone on the bed, his face scarred beyond recognition.

As the group of them caught up on what had been happening, another scene was taking place. Dumbledore's crumpled body still lay at the base of the Astronomy Tower but it was not the only body. Inside, hidden by the darkness, was the figure of a certain Gryffindor student. Her friends did not know she had ever joined the battle – they had left her sleeping, oblivious.

However, Luna was still wandering the steps of the Tower. She was walking up and down the steps, running her hand along the walls. Tonks was watching her, slightly confused as to what the girl was doing. Had she known of Luna's reputation, she might have presumed she was checking for some mysterious species of creature, which congregates in areas where blood has been shed. As it was, Tonks was wondering if the Ravenclaw girl had received a blow to the head, or if the shock had been too much.

Suddenly Luna stumbled. Tonks started forward to catch her, but she had recovered herself. Yet she seemed fixated on a spot in the corner. She drew closer, staring at it. Then she knelt down right by it.

"Excuse me." She suddenly spoke.

Tonks jumped. "Yes?" she replied uncertainly.

"Could you help me? I can't carry her on my own."

"Carry who?" Tonks asked.. She went to kneel by Luna's side. Sure enough, in the gloom there was the body of a girl.

She stared, stunned. "Who's she?" She asked. "She's too young to be one of the Death Eaters, and your group is all accounted for, right?"

"But Eva was in bed, so we didn't count her." Luna replied matter-of-factly.

"She doesn't look like she's in bed."

"No." Luna agreed. "She doesn't."

As Tonks picked Eva up in her arms and brought her back into the light, she realised something and tried to stifle her gasp.

"What is it?" Luna asked.

"Nothing." Tonks reassured her. "She's just heavy, that's all."

This might have been true, but it wasn't what had made the young Auror gasp. Eva's eyes were wide open, staring ahead with the blank stare of a dead body.

* * *

Luna held open the Hospital Wing door for the two of them, and Tonks rushed in. She carefully placed Eva on a bed in the corner.

Their sudden entry had pulled the attention of Harry, Ron and the others away from Fawkes' song.

"Luna?" Ginny asked. "Are you alright? Who's that?"

Not waiting for her question to be answered, she walked over. As soon as she recognised the figure on the bed, she stopped, horrified.

"That's impossible," she muttered. "She wasn't even there."

Glad of the distraction from the news about Dumbledore, Harry followed. He too stopped as soon as he saw Eva.

"Eva?" he gasped.

Ron and Hermione both looked up. "It's Eva?" Hermione asked. "How is that possible?"

"She must have heard, or seen, the battle," Ginny realised. "And when she saw that we weren't in our dorm, she came to help."

"She didn't have any Felix, and she was never very good at Defence." There were tears rolling down Hermione's face. "She never stood a chance."

"Are you sure?" Neville had woken up and was listening to the debate. "How can you be definite she was on our side? Maybe Malfoy called her to help him."

A silence met his words. It was impossible to tell if they were agreeing with him, or appalled by what he had suggested. Finally Ginny acted.

"How dare you!" she hissed, striding over to where Neville lay, still pale-faced. "She gives her life to help us, fights as one of us and you suspect her? If you'd bothered to get past your prejudices about who she looks like and actually talk to her, then you wouldn't say something so ridiculous. Eva wasn't a Death Eater. She would never have fought against us, never have tried to hurt us. She was as different from her brother as it was possible to be! She tried so hard to show us that, whilst not abandoning her family. And it wasn't helped by blind, stupid, people being stubborn and blaming her for everything her family, past and present, ever did!"

Nobody spoke for a long moment. Neville looked shocked by Ginny's outburst. Harry's face was unreadable. Tonks seemed just to have realised who exactly Eva was, as she stared at the eyes and hair that were so familiar from their shared ancestors in her mother's photo albums. Hermione looked fierce, clearly agreeing with Ginny. To the others' surprise, Ron looked to be of the same opinion as his sister.

Luna, on the other hand, did not look angry. She was not watching the argument at all, her silvery eyes fixed on the body of one of her closest friends.

"What I don't understand," she began conversationally, "is why you're all talking about her in the past tense."

Ginny wheeled round to stare at her. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice now barely more than a whisper.

Hermione, clearly thinking that Luna hadn't grasped the situation yet, came over and placed her hand soothingly on the younger girl's arm.

"Luna…" she started. "I'm afraid that Eva's passed away. Look at her. Her eyes are open, and she's not breathing."

"Yes she is."

This proclamation was met with stunned disbelief.

"What do you mean, yes she is?" Hermione asked in a slightly strangled tone. "Yes she is dead? Yes, her eyes are open? Yes…." Her voice trailed off.

"Yes, she's breathing." Luna completed.

All eyes turned to Eva. Sure enough, her chest was rising and falling. The movement was small, but it was unmistakable.

"She's alive?" Tonks asked.

"She's alive!" Ginny cried in delight, hurrying back to the bed.

It was Ron who came up with the problem. "If she's alive," he asked. "Why does she look like that? Why is she lying still with her eyes open? That's what dead people look like, not people who fainted."

* * *

**This isn't really a cliffhanger, is it? **

**I've joined cliffhanging anonymous, and I'm on my twelve step program. **

**But they all keep talking about how important it is to bring safety ropes, so I might have joined the wrong group...**


	25. Chapter 25

**Thanks if you broke the news to me about joining the wrong support group. I don't know how I managed to do that!**

**Also, yay! Lots of** **reviews! Thank you very very much - Jas120, Likewow5556, Moromu, SuzieGeorge, gogguli, Princepessas, cyiusblack, Baying-For-The-Moon, talapadme, Robyn Hawkes, Stardawn, sisteralways0894, notwolf, Insane Elvish Vampire Pirate and the Demented Hobbit Ninja, Arlath's Daughter, Someone aka Me and PrincessSophie21!**

**Last chapter - Eva was found and brought to the Hospital Wing. Everyone believed her dead but Luna noticed her breathing. Now she lies there, motionless and eyes open**

* * *

Madam Pomfrey approached the bed, having recovered herself from the weeping fit. She placed her hand on Eva's chest. "Yes, she's alive." She confirmed.

"Then what's wrong with her?" Ron asked. "Why isn't she awake?"

"Is she alright?" Ginny spoke simultaneously with Harry.

"Of course she's not alright," Hermione snapped. "Does she look alright to you?"

The discussion was about to degenerate into an argument. Lupin and Tonks stayed well out of it, standing by Bill's bed. Then Luna spoke. Her voice, although quiet, cut through the babble.

"Was it a curse?" She asked seriously. "Or something else?"

Not sparing the time to wonder about what Luna's idea of 'something else' might be, Ginny turned her attention to Madam Pomfrey. The room filled with an expectant silence, awaiting the nurse's reply.

"A curse, I believe…" she murmured, running her wand up and down Eva's body as she cast diagnostic spells. She was speaking half to herself, too caught up in her patient for the moment to think about bustling them out of the Hospital Wing. "Some variant on Petrificus Totalus."

Hermione's mind moved quickly. "So she just can't move? She can hear us, and everything?"

This provoked another chorus of voices, all of them speaking to Eva, to reassure her that they were there for her, that she'd be okay.

"She won't be helped by you disturbing her," Madam Pomfrey said sternly. "One more outburst from anyone and you're out."

Another silence fell, broken only by Madam Pomfrey's spoken thoughts.

"Her eyes aren't responding……yet her brain is apparently active….. It's almost like…..she's dreaming?" The nurse frowned and performed yet another spell over Eva's motionless form. "_Narratis Quaestis!_"

A colourful mist rose from Eva's chest. It began to separate and change colour. A fog coalesced over Eva's head, coloured the deepest blue. It was almost black – the colour of raven feathers. Meanwhile a cloud engulfed the rest of her body, with the dull hue of grey, insensible rocks.

"So, she's definitely been frozen……don't know what _that _is. First things first though." Yet again, the nurse raised her wand. "_Finite Incantatum._"

No change was immediately visible. Then, Eva moaned and rolled on her bed. The students rushed forward.

"Eva!"

"Eva, can you hear me?"

"Are you awake?"

"Eva!"

But she didn't respond. She continued to cry out, but only in meaningless babble. Her movements were disconnected as she thrashed about as though in the midst of a nightmare.

Madam Pomfrey watched her patient with a critical eye. "Didn't affect the brain spell then……" She bustled off to her room suddenly.

"What do you think's wrong with her?" Ginny muttered to Hermione. Before the older girl could respond, Luna spoke up again.

"A Gytrash."

This seemingly random outburst provoked much head turning among the others. They silently asked each other if anyone else had heard of this creature, or why Luna had mentioned it. When the general consensus was no, Ginny took the bait.

"What's a Gytrash? And what do they have to do with this?"

"That cloud is the exact same colour as Gytrash fur." She said this with an air of surprise, as if everyone knew this. "If you see one, then you start to see your worst fears – your worst nightmares. And you might not even realise. After all, they just look like big black dogs." She paused, then added, as if as an afterthought. "But with glowing, malevolent eyes."

"But that's a Grim!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We've been over this before Ron, there's no such thing as Grims."

"No, there isn't." Luna agreed. Surprised by the unexpected ally, Hermione stared at her. But then she continued. "Grim is just another word for Gytrash."

Hermione sighed despairingly. However, Ginny had picked up on something different.

"Does that mean what Eva's seeing is her worst nightmares?"

Struck by this new horror, their attention turned once more towards their unresponsive friend. Yet not for long. Madam Pomfrey soon returned, her expression one of triumph.

"A compound spell," she tutted. "Now why didn't I think of that before. Using a potion to help you to modify your spell to the desired effects. So all I need to do is…." She lifted up the potion vial she was holding and held it to Eva's lips. "This should neutralise the effects of the potion…." But Eva writhed away from the glass. Sighing, Madam Pomfrey looked to the students. "You're both strong," she told Ron and Harry. "Hold her down."

It felt odd to be restraining a friend against her will, but they did as they were told and at last every drop of the potion had been drained. Eva went rigid for an instant, eyes bulging from their sockets. Then she slumped down. Her eyelids drooped and her body relaxed.

"Could she hear us?" Hermione asked worriedly, thinking of how awful it must have been if she could. After all, Harry had told the whole story of what Draco had done, not to mention what Neville had said.

"Yes," Madam Pomfrey said thoughtfully, "but only as a part of her nightmare. But now she should be in a nice, natural sleep." Her expression turned severe. "Like you should all be having right now. Why aren't you in your beds?"

She seemed to have completely forgotten the previous events. The teenagers in front of her looked at each other uncertainly, unsure whether or not to remind her of what had devastated her so greatly. But it made no difference. Just then the door to the Hospital Wing opened and Professor McGonagall entered. She seemed as battle-weary as the rest.

"Molly and Arthur are on their way." She said, her voice just about under control, though it nearly shook with fatigue. She turned to Harry. "Harry, what happened? According to Hagrid you were with Professor Dumbledore when he – when it happened. He says Professor Snape was involved in some-"

"Snape killed Dumbledore," Harry interrupted flatly. McGonagall's composure seemed to desert her at this point. She swayed, barely staying on her feet. Madam Pomfrey quickly conjured a chair, which McGonagall fell into gratefully.

However, she wasn't the only one to react. Woken by the slam of the doors opening, Eva had heard Harry's statement. "No," she whispered, her voice barely audible. But Luna and Ginny both heard it, and turned to her.

Her pallor was even greater than usual, and her tangled black hair stood in stark contrast around her face. Her eyes seemed huge, their blue incredibly light. With an expression full of horror as she realised that a part of her nightmare had been true, she murmured "No," once more.

* * *

**Okay, this definitely isn't a cliffhanger, so people can stop chewing me out about that now! I promise not to use a cliffhanger for a while now...at least three chapters.**

**Because yes, this story is being continued. I'm not sure yet whether it'll be as a separate sequel, or just whether I should put it in and make this a super long story. Please tell me which, in your opinion, is better! I like having your opinions!**

**Thanks for reading this far - please review, with whether you think I should write the next bit as a sequel, or just extend this.**

**x**


	26. Chapter 26

**Apologies that this took so long! I have many excuses, including a five-hour delay, an eight-hour journey, a wedding and far too much maths homework of a horrifically complicated level. But I won't go into any of them (I'll save that for all the people who have to endure my company at the moment).**

**Alright, thanks everyone who reviewed and especially if you voted on the issue of long story vs sequel. By the way, I just want to say that either way, last chapter wouldn't have been the end chapter. This one would have been but since the majority voted for a super-long story, that's what I've gone for. **

**And I have a chapter-by-chapter plot of what's going to happen, so I know exactly how many more chapters there is! And how it's going to end, and how the middle's going to be...ooh, I know everything! And knowledge is power, right? **

**Sorry, I'll stop my mad-scientist, evil-megalomaniac ravings now (especially because I don't know everything, I don't know how you guys are going to like it) and say:**

**Thank you to my reviewers! Please come forth and take a bow/curtsy/wave/whatever: carcar3, ellesra, talapadme, Stardawn, Samara Longbottom, notwolf, Boo91393, sisteralways0894, SuzieGeorge, Likewow5556, Princepessas, Insane Elvish Vampire Pirate and the Demented Hobbit Ninja, cyiusblack, gogguli, PrincessSophie21, Arlath's Daughter, Someone aka Me and Robyn Hawkes. **

**Previous chapter: Eva was finally recuscitated from her curse-induced nightmare, to discover that some of those nightmares were true**

* * *

Eva stood under the shadow of the trees. She watched the funeral from a distance. Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes, but for a long time she stubbornly refused to let them fall. Then she surrendered.

'_Go ahead and cry' _she thought savagely. '_Why not? Is there any reason you should continue to hold up these Malfoy traits? Perhaps there are some others you'd like to copy. Attempting to murder those who could save you. Mistrusting those who care about you. Leading the most evil people on the face of this earth into Hogwarts. Any of those sound attractive right now? After all, surely it's only a matter of time. You might not have spent much time with Lucius, but you spent most of your life with Draco. You clearly didn't influence him for the better…but did he influence you for the worse?'_

"Don't."

Startled from her reverie, Eva looked up. Silhouetted against the sun, stood her two best friends. '_Ex best-friends.'_ She corrected mentally.

"Don't what?" she managed.

"Don't think that," Luna repeated.

Attempting confusion, she asked, "Think what?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow, a trait she had picked up off Eva. "That it's all your fault. That you should have known. That we won't be your friends any more. That you betrayed us – though how you manage that one is a feat of twisted logic that I expect even Luna can't imagine."

"I'm not thinking that," she protested feebly.

"Then why weren't you at the funeral?" Luna pointed out.

"I just don't think I belonged there. All those people who he loved and trusted. Why should I be there?"

Ginny scoffed. "Professor Umbridge? Rita Skeeter? Rufus Scrimgeour, for Merlin's sake? You think he trusted them more than you."

"He shouldn't have trusted so much, should he!" Eva cried out. "He _trusted _the man who murdered him. He _trusted _the boy who tried to do so and who led them to him. He _trusted _the boy who unleashed Fenrir Greyback on your brother. And he _trusted _the fool of a sister who wouldn't believe that her precious brother could deceive her like that, despite the evidence to the contrary." Her mouth twisted bitterly on the last statement in an expression too reminiscent of the brother she was so angry with.

"And maybe he was wrong to trust Snape and Malfoy," Ginny conceded. "But you never hurt him. You fought on our side."

"And a load of good I did." She muttered. "Besides, I spent most of the past year trying to convince you that that _murderer_ wasn't so bad."

Ginny looked bewildered. "Snape?" she questioned. "You didn't really."

"No, not Snape. Dra- Malfoy. He murdered when he let Death Eaters into the school. He murdered when he sent that cursed necklace. He murdered when he laced that wine with poison. He murdered when he pointed his wand at the man who had believed in him, no matter whether or not he spoke the words."

Ginny flinched. Harry had clearly explained everything, or she'd picked it up somewhere else.

"_You_ couldn't have known he was going to do any of that." Luna tried a different tack.

"But I should have. I thought I knew him so well, that everyone else was wrong. Turns out it was me who was blind." The distress in her tones was evident, despite all attempts to hide it. Draco had been the first human she had trusted; his betrayal cut her to the quick.

"It wouldn't have saved Dumbledore," the Ravenclaw girl asserted.

"So it wasn't your fault," Ginny agreed.

"No," Eva suddenly gave in. "It wasn't my fault. Nothing he ever does will be my fault. From this moment on, he's not my brother. He's nothing but a back-stabber."

Ginny looked at Luna, unsure if this was the right emotional direction for Eva.

But she was set on her path. "I won't be held responsible for anything any of them do. Cousin, auntie, brother, father. They're all just faceless Death Eaters to me." She suddenly looked back at them and her eyes, which had been so stony, softened. "I think I'll need somewhere to stay for the summer though," she sighed. "I don't imagine going home is a good idea."

Slightly reassured, the two girls smiled at her.

"My mum won't mind if you stay at ours," Ginny offered. "Harry and Hermione pretty much do anyway."

"Are you sure? I mean, you have the wedding to plan and everything…."

Ginny grimaced. "Don't remind me." Then, looking guilty, she hastily added, "Not that she's that bad any more, I guess."

"You could always stay with me. You can help with research for the Quibbler if you want." Luna spoke up.

"That's be fantastic," Eva grinned, already forcing her mind away from the morbid thoughts of earlier.

The sun was falling across Luna's face but the smile that she wore illuminated it even more. "Great," she said happily.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! You have now finished Part 1 of my story. Part 2, Brother No More, will be updated as soon as I can. **

**I hope you all stick around to see what happens in the next year.**

**x**


	27. Part 2: Brother No More

**Thanks to everyone for their reviews over the course of the whole of Part 1, and particularly - dpwheels57, Moromu, Arlath's Daughter, Robyn Hawkes, SuzieGeorge, Rocks-my-socks, gogguli, Boo81393, talapadme, cyiusblack, notwolf, Someone aka Me, Likewow5556, Stardawn and padsy - for last chapter**

**Here begins Part 2, Brother No More, picking up on the day of Bill and Fleur's wedding. Eva has been staying at Luna's all summer.**

* * *

In a house near Ottery St. Catchpole, a figure stood at the foot of a flight of stairs. Had it been Molly Weasley, she would have been shouting up the stairs for the two teenagers to hurry up and get ready. However, this was not the Burrow. This was the Lovegood home and the figure was Xenophilius Lovegood. So instead of encouraging Eva and his daughter to get a move on, he was examining a rather odd looking purple plant in the windowsill.

Up in Luna's room, the two girls were incredibly giddy. Something about getting ready for a wedding apparently attracted Blissflies, which encouraged a general feeling of happiness.

Luna fixed a sunflower in her hair as the final touch and turned to face her friend. Wearing yellow robes, with blonde hair and skin that had tanned after a long and beautiful summer, she seemed the very embodiment of sunshine.

"You look amazing," breathed Eva.

"Thank you," Luna replied, as serene as ever, "So do you. Shall we?"

Arm in arm, the two girls descended the stairs.

It had been an idyllic few months. The worries about Voldemort and the war had faded into the back of their minds as they spent as much time outside as possible. It was Eva's first summer, and she wanted it to be memorable. So they wandered far from the house, snacking from the occasional strawberry plant, blackberry bush or apple tree they came across. To begin with, they had had to take naps whilst they were out there – Eva's constant nightmares (and their late-night talking) meant that neither girl got much sleep and took advantage of any soft patches of moss that they came across to do so.

But now, the wonderful memories she had made recently had replaced the ones that constantly visited her in her sleep and so she slept the night through. Luna too had enjoyed it; at least she said she had. Apparently only the capture of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack could have made her happier.

The naps in the sun had left their mark in a different way though; never having spent time in this much sun before, Eva hadn't realised how badly fair skin could burn. Once she had experienced the agony of this, and the annoyance of peeling skin, she had resigned herself to being fair-skinned and had mastered a Sunblock Charm. Much to her irritation, this charm didn't prevent the myriad freckles from springing up on her cheeks, nose, forehead, arms – everywhere. She tried innumerable glamour charms to hide them, but to no avail. So these brown dots formed her main accessory to her blue dress robes, along with a blue daisy they had found one day.

It had taken her ages to find these robes: not meaning any offence to her friend, but she had despaired of finding anything that she would wear in Luna's wardrobes. Spangled silver and eye-smarting yellow almost suited Luna – but not Eva. At last she had found these, no doubt bought for their Ravenclaw colours.

"Dad?" Luna said patiently, for about the fiftieth time. "I think we should go now."

The two girls had reached the bottom of the stairs - only to find Luna's father entirely engrossed in staring at one of the misshapen items on a shelf in what could loosely be termed the Lovegood kitchen.

At long last, Xenophilius heard his daughter. "Sorry, Luna my love. I was just examining this…."

The rest of his sentence fell out of earshot as his daughter calmly steered him out of the door.

Close to laughter at the antics of this odd man and his daughter, whom she had grown so close to, Eva followed.

* * *

Luna pointed at one of the thousands of redheads swarming around The Burrow. "Look, it's Harry!"

Eva stared at her. "Harry has black hair, Luna."

"So he's changed it," the blonde girl shrugged. "It's definitely him." Before Eva could stop her, she had flown off to greet 'Harry.' Much to Eva's astonishment, the curly-haired redhead motioned to Luna to keep quiet, as he looked around in a way that was unmistakably Harry's.

"_How did Luna realise that?" _she wondered, before being effectively distracted by Hermione descending on her.

"Eva! It's great to see you. You look gorgeous."

"So do you," Eva gasped, quite definitely not lying. Hermione blushed prettily and thanked her, before turning to a dark-haired, surly-looking boy who had caught up with her.

"Eva, this is Viktor Krum. Viktor, this is Eva."

Relieved that Hermione had chosen to leave off her last name, Eva shook hands with Krum.

"Nice to meet you," they both murmured politely. A silence fell. It seemed expectant of something, but Eva just couldn't figure out what. Something was nagging at her brain – something about Krum. Suddenly it hit her.

"You play Quidditch!" she gasped. Looking vaguely embarrassed, Krum nodded his head. Hermione smiled at her.

"Took you long enough to work that out," she teased.

Eva blushed. "I knew I recognised you from somewhere," she said in an explanatory tone. "I just couldn't remember where. Then I realised it was off one of those Quidditch magazines, back when it was the World Cup. You caught the Snitch, right?"

Krum, who seemed incredibly taciturn for a celebrity, nodded again. Once again, Hermione spoke to fill the gap.

"Where did you see a Quidditch magazine? I wouldn't have thought Ginny still had ones about the World Cup. And it was hardly going to be at Luna's house."

Eva laughed. "Nope. Lots of back copies of the Quibbler, but no Quidditch magazines. Ginny did have some when we were at Hogwarts. I saw this one at home though. It belonged to my-"

She abruptly ceased speaking. Her face, which had been happy and animated, tightened and closed off. Unlike the expectant silence of before, the silence that fell now was simply awkward. Krum looked confused, but Hermione knew full well what Eva had been going to say, and why she had stopped. In an effort to break the awkward moment, she said cheerily,

"Nice weather today, isn't it."

Krum, who had been aware of then tension even if he hadn't known what caused it, agreed. "It is very sunny, yes. Much better than it vud be if I vos at home."

Eva remained silent, her face still hard. Hermione continued to attempt to chatter inanely but, not being used to it, did quite a bad job.

Of course, the observation that it was a nice day could have been included in these inane comments, considering the fact that it was August. But it was also England, and the summer season was no guarantee of good weather. Luna and Eva had been caught out by sudden downpours several times. It was then that they had wished they were of-age, since they knew plenty of charms which could have helped, from the Impermeable Charm to the Bubble-Head. A few times they had even performed these charms whilst still inside the Lovegood home, since the Ministry couldn't detect this, before venturing outside. The Bubble-Head charm was an especial favourite of theirs, particularly when you extended it beyond the head – seeing water streaking down outside the bubble was the oddest thing in the world. Mostly though, they just got wet and had fun doing so, or huddled in little shelters made of tree branches or hedges.

Thankfully, Hermione's desperate words were cut off by the swelling of the music, signifying the start of the wedding. Eva eased herself into a seat beside Luna. The blonde haired girl looked at her. "You look awful," she remarked.

Luna's comments had always had the power to bring her out of her musings over Draco and now was no different.

"Thanks. You too."

Luna smiled. "Ginny looks nice though."

"Ginny? I haven't seen her yet. Isn't she a bridesmaid?" Then what Luna had been saying hit her and she twisted around in her seat. Sure enough, the bridal procession was starting. Ginny did look stunning, wearing robes of pale gold. She was glowing, though she was nowhere near as radiant as the bride herself. As Ginny reached the front, she turned around and winked at the redheaded boy Luna had been talking to earlier – Harry, Eva realised.

"_I hope that means they're alright," _she thought. She'd known about their break-up at the end of the previous year, and had known that, despite realising that it would come, Ginny had still been devastated. Not that the youngest Weasley had shown it. She was as tough as anything, and had merely joked that it was the 'price of dating the Chosen One'

* * *

**So??**

**I'm all tense with anticipation now! **

**Do you like Part 2! Hate it? Can think of ways to improve it?**

**Tell me, please**

**x**

* * *


	28. Chapter 28

**Another update! This is quite soon, isn't it? It feels quite soon anyway, but that could just be how quickly time seems to pass right now.**

**Thank you if you did review, although lots of you didn't :( **

**Please review! I don't know if you don't like Part 2, or if you think I should change something if you don't tell me. (Despite much practise with my friends, I haven't developed Legilimency yet (and that's a shame, because it would be so useful in an exam!)**

**But still, many, many, many thanks to - SuzieGeorge, Moromu, Likewow5556, Someone aka Me, notwolf, gogguli, Arlath's Daughter, Boo81393, Princepessas, talapadme and Stardawn. **

**Previously: Eva arrived at the wedding of Bill and Fleur. The bridal procession has just entered.**

* * *

Eva watched the proceedings avidly, trying to remember every detail of her very first wedding. It was beautiful, the little details above all. Charlie standing by his brother, grinning widely. The tears streaming down Molly Weasley's cheeks. The love that shone from both Fleur and Bill's expressions. The stars tumbling down from the minister's wand.

"It's a good thing there are no Lacrilaetas here," Luna sighed.

Mystified, Eva tried to make sense of this. She had developed a technique of doing so – context of the conversation, anything particular in the situation, Luna's own feelings, the name of the creature – but this time she was lost. "Lacri…?"

"You'd be infested with them, along with Mrs Weasley, and Madame Delacour. If those aren't unhappy tears, anyway"

"_Aren't_ unhappy tears. So are happy tears? Wait, tears? What do you mean?" Eva lifted a hand to her cheek, bewildered. But sure enough, she came into contact with wetness.

"I'm crying?" she asked.

A voice spoke in response, the speaker's amusement clearly audible. "You didn't notice?"

Eva spun, her face already breaking into a smile. "Ginny!"

The two friends hugged. "How've you been? Have you had a good summer? You look lovely, by the way."

"Great, yes and thank you. In that order, I think. What about you? Has it been hectic planning all this? I love your robes."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Hectic doesn't cover it. Honestly, you'd think my mum was planning a military invasion."

"Just think, she'll be even worse when it's her only daughter walking down the aisle."

Ginny's only response was a groan. Laughing, Eva turned to include Luna in their conversation but she had already gone. Glancing round, she saw her standing on her own on the dance-floor, swaying to her own beat. Ginny had followed Eva's gaze and now saw Luna.

She laughed. "Same old Loony, then?"

"She wouldn't be Luna if she was normal," Eva defended.

"And then she'd be a lot less fun," Ginny agreed. "I think I'll go catch up with her. Coming?"

"Thanks, but I think I'll need a drink before you get me on that dance floor."

"I hope you don't mean alcohol, young lady." The voice boomed from Eva's head. She jumped about a half-mile into the air, and turned to see an elderly, yet still extremely intimidating woman.

"Auntie Muriel," Ginny greeted. "Nice to see you."

"Though we seem to be seeing too much of you, Ginevra." The old lady said, her gaze fixed pointedly on the front of Ginny's robes. Eva stifled a giggle.

Unfortunately, this turned Auntie Muriel's attention to her. "And who might you be?"

"Eva," she introduced herself.

"Eva?" Muriel questioned. "That's hardly a good name. Surely it's not your real one."

"It's short for Evelna," Ginny explained. Eva flinched. She hated the long version of her name, with good reason.

"Evelna?" Great-Aunt Muriel looked like she was about to have a heart attack. "Not the Evelna mentioned in the Prophet!"

Eva sighed inwardly. "_And that's another good reason for sticking to the short version," _she thought. "Yes, I'm the Evelna mentioned in the Prophet," she snapped.

"You're a Malfoy! What are you doing here?"

The volume at which Auntie Muriel was speaking was growing louder, and Eva could feel attention slowly shifting towards them.

"She's my guest," Ginny said angrily.

"Isn't the brother of your guest the reason that the groom has a face like minced meat?"

Ginny was too furious to speak, but Eva wasn't. Her cheeks flushed, she stepped up and glared at Muriel. "He's not my brother," she hissed. "And even if he was, how does that make me responsible for anything he does?"

Though clearly taken aback by Eva's rage, Great-Aunt Muriel just huffed. "I just think it's indecent." Feeling she had said her piece, she swept away, leaving Eva and Ginny stood there.

"I can't believe her!" Ginny fumed. "How dare she say something like that!" She turned to Eva. "Ignore her. She's just a stupid old woman."

The black-haired girl nodded, her face looking drained. "I guess."

"So, the dancing?"

"You go ahead. I'll just be over by the chairs."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just want to sit down a bit."

"If you're sure…" Only partly reassured that Eva would be fine, Ginny threaded her way through the crowd towards Luna.

Dully, Eva turned away and walked towards the chairs. As she walked, she heard a thousand and one conversations springing up about her.

"Do you think?...Is it really?...She looks just like……I can't believe she'd come…."

She couldn't spare the energy even to glare at the mutterers, though she did have some small satisfaction from 'accidentally' elbowing one gossiper in the ribs when she stood too close.

At last she reached the punch table. Relieved, she sat down on one of the little chairs and sipped at her drink. "_Well that was one way to ruin a pleasant day," _she thought to herself. "_Twice in one day, as well. I've barely thought of all that since a few weeks after we broke up, but the second I go back into public, it all gets raked up._ _Then again, we've been kind of insulated from all that stuff at Luna's. Nothing about the Death Eaters, or the Dark Lord. Terrible things must have been happening in the real world. You can see it everywhere, if you look. There are people missing, or in the case of that Weasley twin, there are body parts missing. Wonder what happened there?"_

As the day wore into evening, Eva got up and joined the other two while they danced. Once they were thoroughly exhausted, they went to collect Butterbeers.

She sipped it, marvelling at the delicious taste. She'd never had the opportunity to taste them before - she hadn't ever been allowed into Hogsmeade. "_Drinking these_ - a_nother first experience to add to today's list. Along with dancing, crying in public-" s_he stopped her train of thought before it moved onto the less enjoyable 'first times' of the day, including the first time she'd had to stop herself from mentioning Draco's name.

She stood up, meaning to find a bathroom. Before she got very far, she nearly walked into a beaming, balding red-haired man. "Sorry," she apologised, about to go. Then she stared.

"Thank you for coming," He said cheerily, then paused just as she had. "Merlin's beard," he gasped. "It's you!"

Eva smiled, a true smile for once. "It's me," she replied to Mr Weasley, for that was of course who it was.

"You look lovely," he said kindly.

_"No doubt contrasting me with the last time he saw me." _Eva thought. Indeed, that was exactly what he was doing. It had been Mr Weasley who had discovered her in her prison. Her hair had been waist-length then, tangled despite Eva's best efforts to brush it. Now it merely brushed her shoulders, though it was once more wildly curly. Her eyes had seemed huge and luminous in a face that was unbelievably pale. They had Flooedwith her to Hogwarts, where she had taken her first steps outside. It had taken her a while to stop cringing away from the great openness above her, compared to the ceilings she had been accustomed to. She hadn't been starved when they had found her, but she hadn't been healthy – where could she have got exercise, in a room that was 12 foot square? Now she was lean, if not tall; the result of her long summer walks with Luna.

They had both been stood in silence for several minutes, contemplating the differences between the day, just over a year ago, when they had first met.

"Thank you," Eva said abruptly.

Mr Weasley looked embarrassed. "Oh, it was nothing. Anyone would have done the same."

"No, they wouldn't. I mean it so much, Mr Weasley. Not only for finding me, but for taking me to Hogwarts." She grinned. "And for having such a wonderful daughter."

He smiled, pleased by the compliment to his family. "She's a good girl," he said fondly.

But something dragged them both rather forcibly from the conversation. A shining silver lynx had fallen through the canopy above her head as if it weren't there. It landed gracefully on the floor and raised its head, opening its mouth to speak, saying,

"**The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."**

* * *

****

Oops. The lack of cliffhangers didn't last very long, did it?

**Sorry about that, but it's not a huge cliffhanger! You kind of know what happens...**

**Anyway, reviews are always wanted, loved and cheered over.**

**So please click that button and write them!**

* * *


	29. Chapter 29

**My updates are getting further apart! I'm sorry, I keep being away. But from now and for quite a long time, I shouldn't be away and I should be able to post quicker.**

**Thank you if you reviewed! May the sun shine on you (like it isn't right now where I live)**

**That is: Arlath's Daughter, SuzieGeorge, Moromu, cyiusblack, PrincessSophie21, Likewow5556, Stardawn, talapadme, Someone aka Me, Robyn Hawkes, gogguli, notwolf and Boo81393.**

**Previous chapter: Eva turned up and had a mostly good time at the wedding, a few people excepted. Then Kingsley's Paonus appeared.**

* * *

Chapter 24

Panic. Sheer, shrieking panic. All around Eva, people were running. Mr Weasley pushed her towards Xenophilius. "You and Luna should go," he instructed, before hurrying to another person who was panicking. She saw a glimpse of Ginny's red-hair, struggling towards something and she turned to see what it might be. As she watched, Harry, Ron and Hermione turned on the spot and Apparated away. They weren't the only ones. Cracks resounded from every corner of the marquee.

She grabbed hold of Ginny's arm as she continued to rush towards the spot where the Trio had last stood.

"They've gone, Ginny. You heard what the Patronus said. 'They are coming'. You need to make this place safe."

Ginny turned her face blindly towards Eva's. Tears were streaking down her face. "What if I never see them again?"

"If you don't make yourself safe, you never will!"

A different voice spoke up. "Doesn't that apply to you too?"

Eva whirled round. "Luna!"

"Are you staying here or something? It's not that best place in the world for you to be."

"Luna's right." Ginny's cheeks were still wet, but her voice was firm. "You're not safe here either. Two known blood-traitors associating? Get to Luna's house. You'll be safe there."

"I can't just vanish-"

"It's better for both of us if you do. Like you said, we need to make this place safe. Everyone needs to get ready."

"Get ready for what?" Eva asked, even as she clasped hands with Luna and her father, ready for Side-Along Apparition.

Ginny shrugged and grinned tearfully. "Do you really want to know?"

* * *

Unused to the sensation of Apparition, Eva collapsed to the earth of the Lovegoods' garden. Luna stood next to her, seeming unshaken. But Eva knew better.

"What are we going to do?" she asked her friend.

As if it was any kind of answer, Luna plucked one of the flowers off a bush by her hand and gave it to Eva. "Veradastine Daisies. They protect against Dark magic."

Eva looked at the tiny green flower that lay on her palm. She started to laugh, but it wasn't through any kind of happiness. "The end of the world as we know it. But at least I have a flower to help me through it."

"Yes," Luna said quietly.

Eva's laughter stopped abruptly. She met Luna's eyes, blue to silver. "Thank you." She said. And she meant it with every fibre of her body.

**

* * *

****1 Month Later – 31st August**

"Looking forward to your sixth year at school?" Xenophilius Lovegood asked Eva. She stared at him, trying to detect a hint of sarcasm but was forced to give up.

"Definitely," she replied, wondering if this counted as a lie. After all, she was looking forward to her _sixth _year of school – that is, if she ever got there. But she was dreading her second.

It had been a hard decision whether or not she should even go back. Various leaflets had arrived through the Lovegoods' door, reminding them that it was now mandatory for all purebloods to attend Hogwarts. But nothing had arrived for Eva, not even the book list that Luna had received. Presumably she wasn't meant to return to Hogwarts that year. Or perhaps the owl just hadn't been able to find her. _'And when has a Hogwarts owl failed to find someone' _she scoffed internally. Possibly it had a lot more to do with the notices about Muggleborns who had failed to report in – Hermione Granger among them, not to mention the one about 'Undesirable Number One', along with a nice picture of Harry Potter. She had refused to look at the orders for Muggleborns to present themselves at a Muggleborn Registration Commission.

But she wouldn't hide away in the Lovegood home, or join the camps of wandering exiles. Maybe at Hogwarts she would be able to do something to help. When she had said this, Luna had only remarked, in an off-hand way, '_In Gryffindor, the bravest were prized far beyond the rest."_

Eva had taken this to mean that she was acting like the typical bone-headed Gryffindor, ready to rush into danger.

Just then, Luna ambled down the stairs, her trunk trailing along behind her, thumping down each stair as she descended. "I have a red headband," she called out.

Eva went forward to take it from her hand, but froze before she got there. "Throw it. I don't want it."

"It's beautiful. Lions in golden thread on Gryffindor velvet. I once had a lion hat in Gryffindor colours-"

"I remember. And your hat was amazing. But I don't want the headband."

"Why not?"

Eva stared at the embroidered crimson band for so long that you might have thought she hadn't heard the question. But at last she answered. "I don't know." She reached out and took the headband, but Luna smiled.

"Let me." She fixed it firmly in Eva's black curls but it slipped forward till it lay across the top of her head. It stayed there, looking like a gash on the girl's forehead, but Eva lifted a hand to correct it. She smiled at Luna.

"There."

Mentally, she chided herself. "_There is no reason why I shouldn't wear it._

_Have you forgotten who it was a gift from?" _Another part of her mind murmured.

_Of course I haven't! And I haven't forgotten that he gave it me to tell me that he didn't really mind that I was in Gryffindor._

_So how can you wear it, knowing that that murderer gave it to you, your bro-_

_Shut up! He's not my brother, so he didn't give it to me. Nobody gave it to me. It's just a headband. My_ favourite _headband. And_ he_'s not going to stop me wearing it."_

The other voice in her head fell silent as if the argument had been won. But she couldn't stop herself thinking "_But it wasn't your favourite headband because of the colours, or the style, was it?"_

* * *

Slinging her trunk up into the luggage rack, she began to turn around, but was attacked from behind before she could do so.

"Eva! I didn't think I'd see you here. How are you?"

Eva raised one eyebrow at the red-haired cannonball, also known as Ginny Weasley. "Never been better," she answered dryly.

"Stupid question, I know. But I was so surprised to see you here. I thought you'd…you know."

"I know. And I considered it. But what would you do without my company for a whole year? Besides, it'll be…interesting."

"It's Hogwarts. It's always interesting. If we're not frightened of a fugitive out to get one of us, then I'm flying off on an invisible horse to rescue the exact same fugitive."

"At least we don't have to worry about anything like that. I don't imagine any of the people that the Ministry calls criminals are going to hurt us."

"That depends." She grinned at Luna. "Hermione might attack you if you beat her OWL results."

The three of them laughed. "I should watch out for that," Luna nodded, sounding extremely serious. "Below what level am I safe from attempted murder?"

"She got 10 O's and an E."

"What did you get?" Eva suddenly interrupted.

Ginny grinned. "3 O's, 5 E's and an A. I actually passed everything. It's a miracle!"

"Well done! You beat Ron then?"

"And Harry. Not that I'm counting, of course. I beat Fred and George too, but I'm not totally sure if that's worth much. What did you get then?"

"2 Outstandings, 3 Exceeds Expectations, an A and a D. The Dreadful was in Defence, surprise, surprise. Looks like the tutoring never really took."

"I think we all noticed that when you were lying unconscious on a bed last June." Ginny turned to Luna. "So?"

Luna's attention returned from out of the window where she had been staring. "What? Oh, results? I think I got mostly O's."

"Mostly O's?" Eva rolled her eyes. "Luna, you got the same as Hermione. Ten Outstandings and an Exceeds Expectations in Herbology."

"Herbology?" Ginny questioned. "You're normally really good at that."

"Don't you remember the last question," Eva pointed out. "Describe a plant with useful and/or unique properties?"

"That explains that, then." Ginny agreed.

They had been talking for nearly three hours, and had so far avoided mentioning anything to do with Voldemort, Death Eaters or the new professors. But that went to waste when the compartment door slid open. Expecting to see Neville, Ginny looked up.

What she saw drew a gasp from her throat, prompting the others to turn around. In the doorway stood two figures. One was recognisable from the Wanted posters that had been circulated so many years ago and, to Ginny and Luna at least, in their memories of the Department of Mysteries battle. The other was clearly the woman from the Daily Prophet. Their new Professor.

Of course, Eva recognised them from an entirely different place. From cavernous halls at Malfoy Manor, from shadowy figures bowing down to their Lord. From the Death-Eater meetings she had once witnessed. Wondering if they'd recognise her, Eva gazed, suddenly dry-mouthed, at Randall Mulciber and Alecto Carrow.

* * *

**A/N I made up Randall. If anyone knows Mulciber's real first name, don't hesitate to tell me in a review! **

**And if you have any comments to make, make them in a review**

**And if you feel like being a nice person and making my day, leave a review!**

**In summary: leave a review!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Wow, this is quite a long chapter! (for me, anyway) Which means you all have to review, to make it even with me.**

**Thanks for reviewing last chapter - chal, PrincessSophie21, SuzieGeorge, gogguli, Robyn Hawkes, Boo81393, Someone aka Me, padsy, Likewow5556, notwolf and Moromu!**

**Carry on reviewing all of you!**

**Oh, and for people who didn't realise - the reason Luna couldn't 'describe a plant with interesting/unique properties' wasn't anything to do with her describing, it was more that the wizards who marked it had never heard of the plant she chose**

**Previously: Luna, Eva and Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express and began to catch up. Until two Death Eaters entered the compartment.**

* * *

It made an odd picture. Three girls sitting in a happy circle, frozen and staring at two figures. One was a short, ugly woman. The other a tall man with vaguely rat-like features.

"Names," the man, Mulciber, snapped. They gazed at him blankly. "Hurry up, I haven't got all day. I'll have your names willingly or I'll loosen your tongues. Your choice."

"Why do you want our names?" Eva asked weakly.

"To check you have your Blood Status. Now unless you want me to Crucio those names out of you, you might want to tell me them quick. Blondie. You first."

Luna looked at him in surprise. "Me first for what? Are we in a queue or something?"

"Are you being deliberately stupid?" Mulciber gritted out. "I can see you'll need some help with this." He raised his wand.

"No!" Eva and Ginny spoke at the same time. Ginny continued. "She's Luna Lovegood."

"And you?"

"Ginny Weasley."

Mulciber sneered at the name, and Alecto let out an irritating giggle, but they said nothing. Mulciber looked at Eva expectantly.

She took a deep breath. "Eva Malfoy," she announced.

The man had already started writing the name on his board before he froze, mid-movement. He looked back up at her. "Eva Malfoy," he repeated stupidly.

"As in Lucius Malfoy's daughter?" Alecto asked.

"No, as in the other Eva Malfoy." Eva rolled her eyes. "If you're only talking in the sense of birth father, then yes. Any other sense, no."

Alecto frowned, this leap of logic being clearly too much for her. "What's that supposed to mean," she growled.

"She means that she doesn't like him, as anyone who isn't entirely obtuse could work out." The cultured voice drawled this sentence out from behind the two adults, both of whom were trying to figure out what 'obtuse' meant and whether it was an insult. As they did so, the person who had spoken elbowed his way between them and came face to face with his sister for the first time in months.

"She is a Malfoy. Therefore she is a pureblood. Do you understand that?" Draco's hair was as white-blond as ever, though his face was even paler than Eva remembered.

Alecto frowned angrily. "Don't go being all rude to us, Malfoy. You might think you're all high-and–mighty, but the Dark Lord don't like your family so much any more."

"At least I can use proper grammar." He paused, clearly expecting them to leave. "Is there anything else you wanted? Planning on checking _my _Blood Status? Is this not proof enough for you?" He raised his sleeve so that they could all see the Mark, before dropping it again.

Glowering at them all, Mulciber and Alecto left the compartment. Draco turned to Eva.

"How are you?" he asked, as if it had only been a few weeks since they had last seen each other. What's more, as if very little had happened in those weeks.

Eva's eyes had been fixed on the spot where his arm had been, but now they lifted to his face. They blazed with a blue fire. "All the worse for seeing you," she hissed. "Get away from my friends, get away from my compartment. Stay away from my life. "

"Eva-" Draco began, but he was cut off.

"She said, Malfoy, to get away from her. And to stay away." Ginny had stepped up beside her friend.

Luna moved to hold the door of their compartment. "Were you leaving now?" she asked disinterestedly.

"Yes, he was." Eva answered. "Right once we'd explained to him that traitorous, back-stabbing Slytherins aren't welcome here. Especially ones who aren't a relative of anyone present."

The meaning of her words struck Draco. Without another word, he turned on his heel and strode out of the train compartment. Luna calmly slid the door shut behind him.

Ginny grinned in victory and turned to Eva, but instantly her triumph turned to worry. Pale beneath her freckles, Eva swayed slightly on the spot. Both girls rushed forward, but she stayed on her feet.

"I'm alright," she said, waving them off. "I know it's stupid, it was just…seeing it there, on his arm. I knew it was there. I've seen it on Lucius' arm, I've seen it on Snape's, I've seen it on countless masked figures – but he's my _brother. _Well, he was. That arm that it's on – it's the same arm that guided my hand when I was first trying the swish-and-flick of _Wingardium Leviosa. _It's the same arm that hugged me after I witnessed my first death. It's the same arm that pulled my hair when I teased him about the first time I beat him in a duel. It's the same arm….." She broke off, her throat too choked with sobs to say anything else.

Unable to say anything that would make her feel better, her friends comforted her the only way they could, with hugs and chocolate and conversation.

The rest of the train journey passed in a blur for her, as did the carriage ride. She clambered out of the carriage and walked like someone in a dream. Ginny and Luna stayed by her side, unable to think of anything that would pull her out of the stupor.

But they didn't need to. She snapped out of it herself when they entered the Hall. They were almost the last to arrive, yet the room was half-empty. She gazed around in disbelief.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"At home. On the run. Or….." Ginny trailed off, before picking up her thread again. "All the Muggleborns are gone. And more than a few families have fled."

"I can't believe how much has changed over one summer," Eva murmured to Luna. "How did we not notice?"

No response came. Surprised, Eva turned her head to look for the blonde girl – and realised that they had reached the Gryffindor table and Luna had already left for the Ravenclaw seats. Eva felt uneasy, chills running down her spine. The last time she had been further than a few feet from Luna, the Ministry had fallen.

They sat on the bench by their table, side by side. By unspoken consent they kept their backs to the wall, a better vantage point from which to scan the room. But unlike in previous years, it wasn't difficult to find a seat.

Almost as soon as they had sat down, McGonagall walked forward. Her whole body, its rigidity and the thin set of her lips, showed her anger and tension, but she did nothing more than place the Sorting Hat down on its stool.

From the Headmaster's chair, black eyes watched it. Though the face in which they were set was unreadable, the meaning of the glare was clear – _Pull any stunts like last year's song and you'll regret it'._

If a Hat could look nervous, it would have. But instead it opened the rip which served as a mouth and began to sing. A frightened line of first years shuffled forward.

Eva didn't listen to a single word. Neither the song nor the subsequent Sorting reached her brain. Her eyes were too busy flitting round the Hall, noting those who were there, looking for those who were missing.

She eyed her own table first. Dean Thomas was conspicuous by his absence, though Neville Longbottom still sat in his habitual place, near Seamus. The missing Trio stuck out like a sore thumb. Frowning, she realised that she had never asked Ginny about them.

From her own year, most were present. Seline Vance and Rebecca Armley were not. She knew Rebecca was Muggleborn. Seline wasn't, but her family would have fled or been killed. Seline's aunt had been an Order member and a casualty in the First Wizarding War. Her relatives wouldn't have stuck around to see who they could lose this time. Her eyes flicked past the girls and she noticed someone. His appearance made her gasp involuntarily. _"Colin Creevey! I know that he's Muggleborn, how can he be here? Why has he risked it?"_

She nudged Ginny and nodded slightly towards Colin. The redhead looked down the table and seemed to have difficulty stifling her own gasp. "Is he mad?" Ginny whispered disbelievingly. "Doesn't he know what he's risking by coming back?"

Eva had no answers, but continued to look round the Hall, wondering if any other students had been as foolhardy as Colin.

Luna sat alone on the Ravenclaw table, the second most empty, after Hufflepuff. There were only seven of the original ten seventh years, and three from Eva's year were missing.

Scanning the Hufflepuff table, her eye was drawn at once to Ernie Macmillan. He positively radiated anger, glaring at Snape for all he was worth. Glad for the excuse to look at any table other than Slytherin, she watched the teacher's table.

Most teachers were still there. Hagrid, Slughorn, Flitwick, McGonagall. The Muggle Studies teacher, what was her name......Faith, Hope – no, Charity. Charity Burbage was gone. And, of course, the man who had presided over the table for so many years. Albus Dumbledore himself.

In their place sat Snape, his mouth sneering beneath his hooked nose. The woman from the Quidditch Express was on his left, whilst a man sat to his right. Amycus Carrow. Eva recognised him instantly.

She ran mentally through a list of what she knew about them. _"Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, or the most imaginative. They did have a cruel intelligence though, just enough malicious cunning to ensure their places among the rest of the serpents."_

Snape had risen and was speaking. Eva regarded him coldly, not realising how alike she looked to Draco when her face was that closed off.

"… will be our new Dark Arts professor," he was saying.

A murmur broke out across the Hall.

"Dark Arts…..What about Defence?...Death-Eaters teaching us…"

Ginny turned to Eva. "That wasn't a slip of the tongue, was it?"

Eva shook her head, the numb feeling returning. "I don't think so."

"Silence!" Snape snapped. "As I was saying, all punishments will be taken care of by the Professors Carrow."

Food appeared on the tables. "D'you think it's poisoned?" a girl nearby whispered.

"Doubt it," Ginny muttered back. "If he wanted us dead, there are easier ways than that."

_"And isn't that a cheerful thought," _Eva reflected. Reluctantly, they all dug in. Though the food must have been as delicious as the previous year, it tasted like dust in her mouth.

"McGonagall's not letting go without a fight then," Ginny said, her knife and fork lying unused by her empty plate.

"What do you mean?" Eva asked, surprised.

Ginny looked at her. "Didn't you hear her, in the Sorting?"

Eva flushed. "I wasn't listening. Must have been daydreaming."

The other girl said nothing for a second, her hazel eyes fixed on Eva. But then she let it slide. "She read out the name of every new student."

"So?"

"As in all the missing Muggleborns too. And every time she got to one, she kicked up a huge fuss about where they were."

Eva grinned grimly. "Good to know that we have the staff on our side- most of them," she added quickly, eyeing the two Carrows who were flanking Snape.

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**Hope you liked it!**

**Review, of course!**

**!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Thank you, those who have read this far! I hope you're enjoying the story, please review and let me know whether you are!**

**Since it's the 5th of November (Happy Bonfire Night!), I'll send toffee apples and parkin to everyone who reviewed. Hope you enjoy, and that you have good dentists - SuzieGeorge, Moromu, Likewow5556, notwolf, ctc, cyiusblack, Robyn Hawkes, PrincessSophie21, talapadme, gogguli, Arlath's Daughter, Someone aka Me and Boo81393.**

**Also thank you to PrincessSophie21 for her suggestion that I write an in-depth profile of Eva. **

**Previously: Eva and the others arrived back at school to find that Hogwarts had changed for the worse.**

* * *

"Your grades in Charms and Potions are certainly good enough to continue to NEWT. And I'm sure Professor Sprout will accept you as a Herbology student with an Exceeds Expectations, as long as you're prepared to put the hard work in. Have you thought of any careers?" Professor McGonagall frowned down at the papers that lay in front of her.

Eva had been called to McGonagall's office like the rest of the sixth years, to discuss NEWT choices and career options. She shuffled her feet. "Not really. It's not something that I've ever considered."

"I can't say that's surprising. But you should get round to that now. So if you take those three then you will have five NEWTs, and the most I would recommend taking is one more."

"Five? You only mentioned three."

"Yes, plus Muggle Studies and Defence Against the Dark Arts. That would make a total of five."

"Why would I take those two? I didn't even do a Muggle Studies OWL, and I don't think a Dreadful grade is really good enough to move into Advanced Defence, however useful it's going to be."

"Did you pay _any _attention to Professor Snape's speech at the Welcome Feast?"

"Some." Eva muttered. "I know the Carrows are teaching them, and I know that he forgot the Defence part of Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"So he did. And I doubt that was a mere lapse of memory. He also said that they are now compulsory for all students."

"That's not good."

"No, Miss Malfoy, it is not. But you have a free period next, so I suggest you make the most of it. Here is your timetable."

Eva nodded glumly and turned to leave. As she went, McGonagall spoke again. "And Miss Malfoy, I would advise caution this year. The number of detentions that you received last year was quite high for a student enjoying their first term here. It seemed to suggest a short temper, and that is not what I would recommend in the Carrows' classes."

"Yes Professor," Eva agreed, and shut the door behind her.

Back in the Common Room, she was happy to find that Ginny had a free period at the same time.

"So?" the redhead asked. "What are you taking?"

"Charms, Potions and Transfiguration. And the other two, of course. You?"

"Same, apart from I've got Herbology instead of Transfiguration. As for Defence and Muggle Studies….well, I'm not sure if they're going to count as lessons."

Eva dragged her timetable out of her bag. "Well, we haven't got long until we find out. We've got Defence next, with the Slytherins. Then Muggle Studies this afternoon. With Ravenclaw."

"Defence with a Death Eater and a load of Slytherins. And both Carrows in one day. Can't wait."

The portrait hole of the Common Room swung open, and Colin came in.

"Colin!" Ginny called. The boy made his way over.

"Hey Ginny," he said, grinning at her. "Hey Eva."

Colin had been one of the few people last year who had bothered to get to know Eva before deciding what she would be like. He had pushed his way past her sarcastic front, into her circle of friends by pure perseverance.

Standing next to him, Eva sighed. "You've grown," she noted glumly. She still remembered the summer after Draco's fourth year. Before he had left, they had been of about equal heights. When he returned, he had shot up nearly a foot and towered over his sister. Colin was no different. He had been quite small the previous year, but now Eva, if she looked straight ahead, was facing somewhere in the region of his chest.

"It happens now and again, when people are alive," he grinned.

Eva suddenly remembered something she had wanted to say to him. Taking a leaf out of Luna's book, she got straight to the point. "You're Muggleborn," she said bluntly.

The grin faded a little, but Colin's reply was still cheery. "And you have black hair. Is there a reason we're pointing out what we know about each other? It might take a while."

Ginny took over. "How did you get back here? And for Merlin's sake, why?"

"Just walked onto the train. Nobody stopped me. Then when those Death Eaters came round, I hid in the loos. Did the same thing once during the summer, when I didn't have any Muggle money with me to pay for a train ticket."

Seamus, who had been sitting nearby with his eyes closed, apparently asleep, spoke. "Do you think that if you get caught this time all you'll be getting is a fine? I admire your Gryffindor spirit, Colin, but they're playing hard ball now. The instant you're of age, it'll be off to Azkaban."

Looking stubborn, Colin didn't back down. "I don't turn seventeen until June. And until June, I'm going to learn as much as I can. How long do you think I would have lasted at home. I'd either have to get my whole family to emigrate, or stay at home like a sitting duck. I can't go on the run until I know how to Apparate, and until I lose the Trace."

The others were silent. None of them had expected Colin to have thought out his reasons for returning so completely. "What about Dennis?" Ginny asked at last.

"And he's another reason. I don't know enough yet to be able to keep Dennis safe. This way I can decide whether he's safe at Hogwarts till he's nearly seventeen, or if I should take him with me."

"What about your parents?" Ginny pressed.

"They don't know anything. Why would they? They don't get the Daily Prophet, they're not wizards. As far as they know, it's a normal year."

"And if you don't come back? Think they'll figure out then that something is up?" Seamus still had his eyes closed, but he must have been able to feel the weight of the glare that Ginny was sending him after that last statement. "What? I'm only telling the truth. The wizarding world isn't safe any more."

"That doesn't mean that Colin shouldn't get to help. It's his world too, and he has the right to be here. If something happened to him, someone else here would let his family know. Wouldn't you?"

Seamus' eyes opened to watch Eva, who had spoken. He was clearly lost for words at her unexpected defence, plus he had barely ever spoken to the younger girl. Draco had always taught her how to keep behind 'the Malfoy front', to brush people away with sarcasm. She only ever broke from this when she was angry (which, considering her quick temper, was quite often) and with the people she considered friends.

Seamus wasn't the only one staring at Eva. Ginny, knowing that Eva was usually quite taciturn, was astonished, and Colin even more so. Eva grinned slightly sheepishly. "I think a summer at Luna's made me a bit louder."

Ginny looked at the clock. "This might not be the right time to discover that. We're about to be late for a Dark Arts lesson with the Carrows and the Slytherins."

Eva and Colin both turned to stare at the clock; after a second, they leapt to their feet, grabbing their bags.

"If we run, we might make it." Colin was already halfway to the portrait hole.

"I hope we do," Eva muttered. "I really don't want to see what the Carrows have come up with for punishment."

* * *

**A Carrow lesson! I'm both scared, and happy about writing it! **

**Hope you'll review it, but first.....you know what I'm going to say...**

**you do...**

**that's right......**

**get ready.....**

**stand on your head!**

**No, wait. I think I meant review. Stand on your head was an instruction to someone else (and I can't for the life of me think who)**


	32. Chapter 32

**400 Reviews! (Not for last chapter, for this story!) I'm so happy I might burst! And I needed the happy boost, because yesterday was quite a tense day. **

**Thank you if are reading.  
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**And this is another long chapter! I don't know how I'm doing it. You can reward me by becoming a repeat reviewer though. Or tell me you prefer shorter chapters by becoming one!**

**Previously: Ginny, Colin and Eva had to run off to Defence Against the Dark Arts, with Amycus Carrow. Will they make it?**

* * *

To the delight of all three of them, they arrived on time, although with seconds to spare. Colin was about to grab the nearest seat, but Ginny pulled him back.

"What?" he asked in surprise.

She looked uneasily at the people in the seats surrounding them. "I think we should go sit over there."

Still confused, he asked why. It was Eva who answered him. "Because our robes are red and gold." She and Ginny led him over to empty seats in the middle of the room. It was only then that Colin realised what they had been talking about. In front of the three of them was a sea of green. Every seat was filled by a Slytherin. Then there was a gap at the middle of the room. Behind this, clustered at the back, sat all the Gryffindor students. The row of chairs separating the two factions was only one desk thick, but it could have been a six-metre wall for all the interaction that passed across it.

The three took their seats with the rest of the Gryffindors. At that moment, their Professor, for lack of a better word, walked in. Ginny recognised him at once from the train. "Welcome to your Dark Arts lesson," he started, but got no further.

"Actually, this is Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Eva rolled her eyes. "_And it looks like Ginny has taken a leaf out of her boyfriend's book, on the subject of keeping your mouth shut._"

Because, of course, it had been Ginny who had spoken.

"What were that?" Professor Carrow asked."

"I said," Ginny repeated, enunciating every syllable as if she was talking to a particularly stupid child, "that this lesson is Defence_ Against_ the Dark Arts."

Carrow giggled wheezily. "Not any more, it's not. What's the point of learning rubbish like that?"

"So we can defend ourselves against the evil that is Dark Magic and anyone who follows it?" Colin had clearly decided to join in on Ginny's suicide mission.

"So that we can fight against the egomaniac who has decided to call himself a Lord?" People were turning around to see who had spoken. Eva was on the verge of doing so when she realised that it had been her mouth which was moving. _"And now I've gone and done the exact same thing!"_

Amycus squinted malevolently at them whilst he worked out the insult. But once he had, he did not get angry as the students had expected.

"Looks like I've got me some volunteers then." He grinned evilly at them. "Weasley, Malfoy. Come stand here."

The two girls reluctantly stood and walked towards the front of the class. "And you haven't got away just cos I don't know yer name," Carrow added to Colin. "You can come along too."

The three of them stood apprehensively at the front of the class. "So, first lesson? Have you kids ever heard of the Un-unfug-Onforgi-Unforgivables?" He finally managed to pronounce the last word.

"Congratulations, polysyllabic words." Eva remarked sarcastically. "_Shut up, shut up," _she cursed mentally.

"I wish I had a gold star to give you," Colin added.

Not to be outdone, Ginny chimed in with "Your mother must be so proud. What a clever little boy."

He appeared speechless for a second, before pointing his wand at Ginny. "Crucio!" he shouted.

_"He might not be the brightest Death Eater, but he always had the hatred needed for these curses," _Eva thought to herself. Then, following straight on the heels of this rational thought "_Ginny! No!"_

The room, which had fallen deadly silent as soon as they had started their insults, was suddenly filled with noise. Some of the Gryffindors at the back were protesting, hurling insults at him. Colin was one of these. Several students were white-faced in shock and terror. A couple of the Slytherins sitting nearest to the front were grinning in pleasure at the sight of the blood-traitor being tortured. A few girls had screamed aloud. Adding to this cacophony of sounds were Ginny's screams, loud and high-pitched as she writhed in pain on the floor.

Amycus lifted his wand. The screams stopped, replaced by Ginny's harsh, ragged breathing. Slowly Eva bent down and helped Ginny to her feet. Her face was pale, the freckles standing out more than ever. A silence had fallen again.

Enjoying the moment, Amycus preened at the front of the room. "That was the Crucio curse," he informed them. "For hurting people. Then there's Imperio, for making them do what you want. And of course, Avada Kedavra." The words were spoken with a kind of reverence that made them sickening. "You might think that such a powerful curse would need years of practise. But don't worry, you'll all be able to do it before you leave at the end of this year."

The room was still silent. A small minority looked excited at the prospect; many looked sickened. A few, Eva among them, wore masks of unconcern.

"You, boy." He was talking to Colin. "Point your wand at Malfoy and say the word. Cru-see-oh."

Colin looked at the Death Eater. Revulsion crossed his face. For a second, it seemed like words had failed him in his outrage. "Never," he said flatly, and turned to go back to his seat.

There was an intake of breath. People were expecting Amycus to use the Cruciatus again, or something. As it was, he only leered lopsidedly. "Fine. Detention then, at 8 o'clock tonight. My room."

Colin looked like he was debating whether to say 'I'd rather have a thousand detentions than perform that curse.' Thankfully, he thought better of it and merely went back to his seat.

Amycus turned back to the class. "Two of you, up here….you, and you." He pointed at the students as he chose them.

The girl who he had pointed at, a petite Slytherin named Niamh, with brown curls and an ever-present smirk, stood up and walked towards him. But the Gryffindor boy, Banalph, merely stayed where he was.

"I'll have the detention like Colin." He said.

As if this were no big setback, Carrow nodded and looked at Niamh. "You try it on Weasley."

She watched him for a few seconds, appearing frozen to the spot. But then she obediently did as he said, lifting her wand to aim it at Ginny.

For several seconds, she did nothing. "Remember the incantation," he urged. "Crucio."

"Cruchio." Niamh called. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.

"No, no, Cru_c_io."

"Creecio!" This continued for a ridiculously long time. Every time that Eva thought Niamh must have run out of ways to mispronounce 'Crucio', the girl thought of another one. The one time she managed the incantation right, her wand wasn't pointing at Ginny at all, but at a table leg.

"Nice try," Amycus commiserated. "Good girl."

She returned to her seat. As she turned away from the Professor, Eva was sure she saw the smirk slip for a second, to be replaced by sheer relief. But the next instant, the mask was back in place and Niamh flopped into her seat, looking disappointed.

The Professor selected two more pupils. This time it was a male Slytherin, one of the boys at the front who had been watching the earlier torture with glee. He rose eagerly to his feet and hurried towards the front of the class.

The other student was a Gryffindor girl – Madeline Bode, who would have been Eva's room-mate a year ago. But McGonagall, expecting tensions between the two (and understandably, given who was to blame for the death of Madeline's father) had moved Eva into a room with Ginny and Hermione. These two hadn't blamed Eva for her family's actions. But not everyone had thought the same, and Madeline had been one of those who had gone out of her way to make Eva's life a misery, bumping into her in the corridors, spilling ink on her work, moving away if Eva sat down near her in the Common Room.

It hadn't stopped when the Prophet had revealed what had really happened to the Malfoy daughter – after all, they had accompanied the article with mountains of material on why this made her more likely to be evil than ever.

Madeline reluctantly stood up, clearly too frightened to disobey a professor.

"Yaxley," Amycus said to the Slytherin. "You take Weasley. You, girl, you can try Malfoy here."

Yaxley went first. He did not hesitate, but aimed his wand at Ginny immediately and shouted "Crucio!"

Ginny fell to the floor again, but this time, she did not scream. The curse was short-lived, too; within seconds, she was herself again, breathing hard, but in full possession of her body.

"_There's a surprise," _Eva thought angrily. "_The Death Eater's son isn't afraid to use the Unforgivable."_ Part of her rebuked herself for saying that – wasn't that what all the other students thought about her? But another part was reminding her of Draco, and his eagerness to follow in Lucius' footsteps.

"Great job!" Carrow enthused. "10 points to Slytherin." He turned to Madeline. "Your go."

Madeline, her hand trembling, raised her wand and pointed it at Eva. Eva tensed herself, waiting for the curse. She knew Madeline hated her, and probably would love to curse her. She definitely wouldn't risk herself on Eva's behalf.

But the pain never came. Madeline stood there for a long time, her mouth stubbornly closed, contradicting the wand that was aiming at Eva.

Finally, she dropped her arm. "I can't." She was probably speaking to Carrow, but she was still looking at Eva. "I won't do that to a human being." Disappointed, for to him she had seemed about to do the curse, he frowned. "10 points from Gryffindor."

Before he could choose any more students, the bell rang. Amycus sent Eva and Ginny back to their seats, along with Madeline. "An essay on the best uses for the Crucio curse," he ordered.

As students began to stream out of the door, Eva turned to look at Madeline. But she had already gathered up her things and left. She looked out of place for a second, a solitary figure. Eva frowned, trying to work out what was different about her.

It was seeing one of the other Gryffindors who enlightened her. Alyssa, the only other girl left in Gryffindor, now that Rebecca and Seline had not returned. Alyssa had taken to hanging out with Elliot Warder, her boyfriend – because her best friend, Rebecca, wasn't there.

_"That's what looks odd when I see Madeline. She and Seline used to be inseparable. She must miss her. I miss Hermione, but we weren't nearly as close as Madeline and Seline." _She thought about Alyssa. "_It must be even harder for her. At least Madeline knows that Seline is safe. Rebecca's Muggleborn. She could be dead by now, for all we know."_

Shaking such morbid thoughts from her mind, Eva hurried to help Ginny, whose legs were more than slightly shaky.

* * *

**There! My first Carrow lesson. **

**So, what did you think? Comments, criticism, improvements? **

**Please tell me them all in a review!**

**x**


	33. Chapter 33

**Hello again, to all you lovely people who have made it this far. Thanks for sticking with me!**

**And thanks for reviewing: bobbinbird, Jarka, leafstone, talapadme, Someone aka Me, Likewow5556, Boo81393, cyiusblack, Tribblelet, PrincessSophie21, Moromu, gogguli, Arlath's Daughter, notwolf and SuzieGeorge!**

**Previously: Eva and Ginny attended their first Carrow lesson, Dark Arts with Amycus. In the course of this, Colin managed to get a detention, as did another Gryffindor boy, while Ginny was Cruciated.**

* * *

Eva and Ginny were two of the last people to arrive in Potions. Ginny had insisted on walking on her own, despite her shakiness, and progress had been slow. When they at last reached the classroom, they discovered that Luna had saved a bench for them.

Potions was quite crowded for a normal NEWT-level lesson, though it was empty compared to the Dark Arts lesson. Other than Luna, there were two more Ravenclaws, one boy and one girl. The girl was sat with the two male Slytherins in the class, whilst the boy had joined the lone Hufflepuff and Banulph, the third and final Gryffindor. Finally, the sole Slytherin girl sat alone, behind her housemates.

Slughorn made no comment about their lateness.

"Welcome to Advanced Potions," he announced, though some of his cheeriness seemed forced. "Glad to see you've all made it this far. Today-"

He was cut off by an extremely odd occurrence. Eva's hand had shot up into the air, in an uncanny impression of Hermione.

"Are you alright?" He asked in surprise.

"I'm fine, Professor. I was wondering if we could make the Rilassare Potion."

Slughorn was taken aback. His enormous moustache quivered and he cast a furtive look at the bench where the Slytherin boys and the Ravenclaw girl were seated. "That _is_ a complex potion, Eva. Definitely NEWT level. Was there any particular reason why you wanted to make it?"

His prominent eyes desperately urged caution. Taking the hint, Eva nodded.

"I was just reading my textbook, and there was something I didn't understand about the fifth instruction."

"Of course!" Slughorn flicked the textbook open to the correct page. "Simmer the sliced lacewings for five minutes, then gradually stir in the leech juice. You were wondering if you leave it on the heat whilst you add the leech juice?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, we can't leave you ignorant, can we? Get out your cauldrons, everyone. Today we'll be making the Rilassare Potion, excellent for relaxing muscles and easing aches. Good for old bones like mine, you know."

The class set to work. As she measured out the unicorn hair for the potion, Ginny murmured to Eva,

"Why did you want to make this potion so much? You were completely lying about that problem."

Eva flicked her a panicked glance. "Was it that obvious?" she hissed.

Ginny frowned. "No. It's just because I know you that I could see. Probably only Luna and I could tell. But what's the problem? Why shouldn't you have wanted to make it?"

Copying Slughorn exactly, Eva risked a glance towards the Slytherin desk. But before she could answer, Luna helped her out.

"Rilassare eases the pain from extended Cruciatus Curses. Of course, it would benefit from the added ingredient of Sandmice tails, but they're very hard to catch. They only come out just as you're about to fall asleep."

Luna's eyes might be selectively sighted - not noticing students who laughed at her, yet seeing elusive creatures like these 'Sandmice' - but she had obviously noticed Ginny's weakness as she entered the classroom and had therefore understood Eva's motivation.

Eva shrugged. "Exactly. The bit about Cruciatus, I mean. I just figured it might be a good potion to have a store of, if we can expect more lessons like that one."

"Slughorn knew what it did," Ginny noted, her eyes darting away from the lacewings she was chopping and towards their Potions professor.

"Definitely. And he knew that I knew what it did. I think he just hoped that Galla and her Slytherin pals didn't."

Galla was the Ravenclaw girl who had chosen to sit herself with the Slytherins.

"And he was making sure there was a valid excuse to make it if they did realise." Ginny smiled faintly. "You would have thought that the Head of Slytherin wouldn't have to worry."

"He's not evil, though." Eva pointed out. Though Slughorn had never deigned to pay very much attention to her, she knew that that had more to do with her terrible grades and lack of connections than her upbringing or her family. As a result, she couldn't dislike him, and the fact that she did quite well in his lessons only served to make her enjoy them more.

* * *

As soon as the potion was brewed, Eva began to flask it. Every time that she bottled some, apparently to hand it in, she left it on her desk for a second. With a silent Concealment Charm, she could then slide it into her bag and collect some more.

Once the cauldron was nearly empty and her bag clinking and full, she handed her bottle to Slughorn.

"Great work, Eva! Hope you understand how to make this potion now."

"I think I've got it Professor. Thanks for letting me try it out."

"Not a problem, dear girl."

Walking back to the desk, she began to clear away unused ingredients – only to notice a distinct lack of them. She frowned at her friends. "Where….." she began to ask, before trailing off as her gaze fell on their bags, which were also bulging. "Never mind."

"Doesn't hurt to just borrow some stuff," Ginny remarked.

"I know an Inflammable Fire Charm," Luna added, seemingly randomly, unless you were aware that brewing potions outside of the classroom was impossible unless you planned on lighting half the castle aflame.

"Good for you," Eva said sarcastically, her eyes telling a whole different story. "_Good to see my friends are on the same wavelength as me. I wonder if I could smuggle Luna into Ginny and my room – without any witnesses, ours is the best place for illicit potion making."_

"I can't believe it's only lunchtime," Eva groaned, her head collapsing onto her folded arms. "This day has to be the longest one ever."

* * *

"And it's going to get longer," Colin pointed out. "We have Muggle Studies next."

"Thanks for cheering me up," she muttered to the wood of the table.

"No problem," he chirped. Rolling her head just enough to be able to see him, she gave a small grin.

"At least we have plenty of that potion now," Ginny pointed out.

"And maybe you two should try this new thing called 'keeping your mouth shut.'" Eva remarked.

"Us?" Ginny said innocently. "I've never spoken out of turn in class in my life."

"And it's not like we were the only ones talking," Colin said meaningfully.

"It's not like I _meant _to say anything," Eva protested. "It just happened."

"_Kind of like it was earlier, in the Common Room."_ she thought. "_Since when do I chat normally to anyone other than the Trio, Ginny and Luna?"_

**

* * *

**

Problems, questions, queries? Even though questions and queries are the same thing.

**Either way, review! And if you're reading this, review!**

**If you're not reading this......well, how do you know what I'm saying if you're not reading this?**

**x**

* * *


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 3 of the first day back at Hogwarts! I don't know if I've ever used this many words to describe one day before, I'm quite pleased.**

**Oh, and I'm sorry for any mistakes - this is hot off the press, so I haven't had time to triple-check like I normally do. Please point any errors out so I can correct them!**

**I'm also quite pleased ('quite' being a massive understatement) if you reviewed! So that's - Admiral Andalite, Jarka, Boo81393, Likewow5556, Tribblelet, cyiusblack, notwolf, SuzieGeorge, Someone aka Me, Moromu, gogguli and Arlath's Daughter.**

**Previously: Defence Against the Dark Arts turned out to be a painful experience for Ginny, and both Colin and another Gryffindor recieved detentions. Potions was useful, but now they are facing Carrow Lesson No. 2 - Muggle Studies.**

**Thanks to SuzieGeorge, who told me about an error in this chapter!**

* * *

Lunch was over far too soon and they were all traipsing into Muggle Studies. This time they managed to grab seats right at the back, Luna joining the three Gryffindors.

This would be the first Carrow lesson for the Ravenclaws, who looked understandably apprehensive. Which wasn't helped by the looks of anxiety on the faces of most Gryffindors.

Alecto strolled in wearing an extremely odd expression. She looked as if she had decided to take part in a face-pulling competition.

"What is _that_ supposed to be?" Colin muttered to Eva, sitting next to him.

"I think it's a smile," Ginny whispered from his other side.

"She might have been attacked by Gellervanes," Luna contributed.

"Or she's trying to remember where she left her brain," said Eva coldly. She remembered Alecto well. Despite their apparent stupidity, both Carrows had been quite ingenuous when it came to finding new ways of torturing people.

The other three sniggered, but they all fell silent when Alecto's beady eyes fell on them.

"Now, I know your learning in this class has been pretty wrong," she began.

"Not as wrong as having Death Eaters teaching at Hogwarts," Colin growled.

Not hearing him, Alecto continued. "You were even taught that Muggles were like us! Equals!" she giggled wheezily. A few members of the class tried to laugh along; the rest sat in stony silence.

"Your old professor actually said that they made some things that made them better than us. Superior to us, just cos they can make substitutes for magic. Well, she was wrong." She said, suddenly serious. "Muggles are nothing but dirt beneath us. Weaklings, a plague on our communities. They're like pigs, scrubbing around in the muck."

Eva scowled. "So this is why they made Muggle Studies compulsory," she muttered. "So they can try to brainwash us into believing their propaganda." She looked around the room. "_It doesn't seem to be going too well_," she noted mentally. "_I've never seen anyone look less convinced. Well, most people."_ To her relief, every Gryffindor in the room had equally revolted faces on, and most Ravenclaws were the same. But a few weren't. Galla, the girl who had sat with the Slytherins in Potions looked as though she were actually listening.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the involuntary clenching of Colin's fists. The movement brought her back to what Carrow was saying. Listening to Alecto's words, she wasn't surprised at Colin's anger.

"And now they steal our magic!" The woman was saying. "Daring to claim it as their own, they sneak their way into our society, stealing our jobs, taking our places at schools. These thieves take our things without any care. They're destroying hundreds of years of magical heritage. Mudbloods are almost worse than the Muggles who spawn them. They think it is their right to have what they have taken away from decent magical people."

Eva knew that Colin was seconds away from a complete ouburst. Quickly, desperate to distract him, she stood up.

"You got a question?" Carrow asked. She was neither hostile nor friendly; they clearly hadn't decided how to deal with a pure-blood Malfoy who was a hated Gryffindor.

"Yes," Eva replied calmly. "Did these Muggleborns get to you, is that why your magic is clearly so poor?"

She tensed her body immediately, expecting the Cruciatus. Unlike in Dark Arts, she wasn't proved wrong. The pain was no less agonising for its familiarity. She knew she screamed aloud, but it was several seconds before she realised that the curse had been lifted.

Opening her eyes, she realised that she was lying on the floor. As the pain of the Cruciatus receded, she felt the pain in her head more clearly. "_Must have bumped it on the table," _she thought blearily. She struggled back into her seat.

To her dazed senses, it seemed for a moment like the very walls of the room were shouting. But as her eyes cleared, she realised that it was only the students. "_Only the students!" _She jerked to attention, the movement hurting her aching body. _"They're_ all _shouting! Well, not all. But so many!"_

And it was a lot. Predictably, Ginny and Colin were stood up, hurling abuse at Alecto. Even Luna was standing beside them, making idle and disparaging comments about the Death Eater. Yet that wasn't the extent of it. It was as if her outburst had set them all off. Another Gryffindor girl was standing, spitting insults like fire. Every single Gryffindor boy was.

But it wasn't this that was so surprising. Luna wasn't the only blue-robed Ravenclaw who was on her feet. Two of the three remaining Ravenclaw boys were, their comments cutting and angry. Galla remained sitting, unsurprisingly. So did the other two Ravenclaw girls, though this wasn't stopping them calling out their own remarks.

"Daisy and Ella," Eva recognised. "The Ravenclaw 'Triplets', as everyone called them last year. One pure-blood, one half-blood, one muggle-born. Twins now, of course. I suppose they didn't like the insult to their 'sister'."

But the uproar didn't last long. "Diffindo! Diffindo! Diffindo!" Alecto shrieked three times, pointing her wand in three different directions.

The first hit the arm of a Ravenclaw boy in front of Eva. That effectively shut up both him and his friend, who collapsed into their seats.

The second spell hit the Gryffindor girl who had been standing. "_Alyssa" _Eva's mind supplied. "_Best friend of Rebecca, a Muggleborn who is missing. And she was lucky." _She had been: the spell had slashed a cut in the shoulder of her robes. A mere wands-length to the right and it would have cut her throat.

The third victim was the least lucky. Alecto had probably bothered to aim for this one, because there was no other way she would have hit someone who had sat in the back. The curse had cut his cheek, the end of the red slash curling dangerously close to his eye. Already blood was dripping down, obscuring Colin's mouth.

Ripping away the end of her sleeve, Eva offered it to Luna. The Ravenclaw Transfigured it into a bandage. Eva quickly pressed it to Colin's cheek. "Hold that." She instructed.

"Class dismissed," Alecto announced angrily, gesturing towards the door.

The four of them made their way to Gryffindor tower, surrounded by the other Gryffindors. They walked in silence, everybody thinking about what had happened.

Luna waited until the last possible moment to leave for her Divination lesson.

The moment that Ginny entered the Common Room, she exploded.

"Sadistic, evil, twisted little….Death Eaters!" she cried. "They're worse than Umbridge. Or at least as bad."

"They _are_ serving the most evil man to have arisen in the last fifty years," Eva pointed out.

"And Umbridge was only working for the Government," Colin agreed.

The two girls laughed, then Ginny glared at Colin. "Don't talk! You'll make that cut worse."

Eva nodded in agreement. "Unless you want to end up with a second mouth in your cheek, I'd stay silent for a while."

"How long?"

"Depends. And asking questions is about as close to being silent as Alecto is to being tall." Eva pointed out, her eyebrows raised.

"Don't worry," Ginny reassured him. "We just need to do a Healing Charm and you'll be able to be your usual annoying self during dinner."

"It's a Knitting Charm actually," Eva said absently.

"Knitting? Isn't that what you do with wool?"

About to admonish Colin for speaking again, Eva realised that the voice which had spoken hadn't been male. She turned to see a seventh year girl looking at her.

"Yes, I'm going to thread his cheek together with yarn," she said flippantly, her old sarcastic self returning at the unexpected social interaction.

Colin made an 'eep' of fright. The girl, an Asian whose name Eva couldn't recall, looked offended.

"Sorry I spoke," she said huffily, turning away. Her friend, a brunette with some sort of flower name, went with her.

"Wait!" For the millionth time that day, Eva spoke before she realised it. The pair turned back and waited, regarding her with impatient looks. "I- I didn't mean to insult you," she managed. Delighted to find that speaking in a friendly way became easier with practise, she continued. "I was just stressed. Lessons with the Carrows can do that."

The Asian girl smiled. "I know that. We had Muggle Studies this morning. Is that where you just came from?"

"Muggle Studies just now," Ginny nodded, "and Dark Arts this morning."

The seventh-years pulled a face. "Poor you," the brunette said sympathetically.

"Tell me about it," Ginny sighed, then frowned. "What were you saying about wool, Parvati?"

"_Parvati! And…Lavender!" _Delighted that she had remembered their names, Eva tuned back in to the conversation

"I heard Hermione talking about knitting in fourth year," the girl was explaining.

"This is the same kind of thing," Eva replied, "only it knits together skin rather than wool."

"I get the feeling we'll need more of that sort of thing," Pavarti said soberly. "Especially after these detentions tonight."

"You have them too?" Ginny asked.

"Me, Seamus and Neville." The dark-skinned girl replied. "And Ernie and Hannah from Hufflepuff."

* * *

**Detentions! Do you want to bet when Eva will get one?**

**If you do, you have to review!**

**So, go on. Press the button! Write something! Anything at all (though preferably more than one letter, getting reviews which just say 'h' won't help me much. 'hi' is much better, although I might reply saying 'jk'. **

**(Also, wow! I just chose h as a random letter, then followed it on in the alphabet. And I ended up with 'hi' and the initials of the creator of this whole universe! Coincidence?)**

**Plus, if you review it might stop me from babbling on in this completely random way.**


	35. Chapter 35

**Another long chapter! And I realised that it is actually the** _**fifth**_ **one about this first day. Whoa. Don't worry, I'm not planning on going into that much detail for every day! I don't think it's possible, since I'd have a novel that's probably the length of OOTP before I reached Christmas.**

**Anyway, thank you those wonderful people who reviewed! There aren't any cookies left (sorry, I ate them all), but you can have hot chocolate instead. **

**That would be - carcar3, HopeCoppice, AdmiralAndalite, celipsis, Boo81393, cyiusblack, SuzieGeorge, Jarka, PrincessSophie21, Likewow5556, notwolf, Arlath's Daughter, Someone aka Me, gogguli and Moromu.**

**Previously: People had various Carrow lessons, and Colin, Ginny, Eva, Luna, and most other students yelled at Alecto in Muggle Studies. Eva was Cruciated, Colin was cursed (but don't worry, Eva fixed him up) and now detent****ion for Colin, Parvati, Seamus, Neville, Ernie, Hannah, Banulph - and lots of other people.**

* * *

Dinner was even quieter than lunch had been. Those who had had Carrow lessons were either dreading upcoming detentions, or worrying about more lessons to come. Those who hadn't were exploring their worst nightmares to think what they must be like.

As soon as dinner was over, Colin met up with Banulph, the Gryffindor boy who had also received a detention. Parvati, Seamus and Neville soon joined them. Then Ernie and a Hufflepuff girl who must be Hannah. They were being followed by three Hufflepuffs from the year below Eva. Four Ravenclaws, also from fifth year, joined them. The only colour that was noticeably missing from the group was the green and silver of Slytherin.

Once they had gathered, they stood in the entrance to the Hall for a while, drawing as much attention as possible before finally departing up the stairs.

And then it was waiting. Eva couldn't bring herself to start the Dark Arts essay. Slughorn, at least, hadn't set any homework – no doubt he didn't want anyone investigating the uses of the Rilassare Potion.

At last, over an hour after they had gone, the five Gryffindors staggered back into the Common Room. And staggered was the right word.

* * *

Seamus was being supported by Neville and Parvati, neither of whom looked particularly well, Neville's arms littered with cuts. There were no visible cuts on Colin this time, though Banulph had a huge gash which ran from his shoulder right to his elbow.

Lavender had been waiting, her lip nearly chewed to pieces from anxiety. She rushed forward and helped lower Seamus into a chair. "What happened?" she asked nervously.

"A lot of Cruciatus," Neville said, his tone angry.

"And the cuts?" Ginny interrupted.

"Well, that was them thinking we might be cowardly enough to curse our own," Seamus spat. "When we didn't oblige, they felt a couple of curses might encourage us."

"They were wrong," Neville added flatly.

Eva had started to check them over for cuts and bruises. "Could you go get some of the potion," she asked Ginny. "It's in my trunk. And Neville, roll up your sleeves."

She noticed the silence around her. "What?" she asked in surprise.

"Nothing," the seventh years muttered, but Ginny got straight to the point.

"I've never seen you be so bossy," the redhead remarked.

Eva flushed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," Colin cut in. "You just seemed really familiar with the whole thing."

She glanced at her hands. "Yeah, well. I've had plenty of practise with dealing with all this." She leaned forward, and took Neville's arm, ready to Heal the cuts. But he jerked his arm away.

"Idiot," a voice inside her hissed. "It was only a few months ago that he thought you'd have fought with the Death-Eaters. You think he'll want you casting spells on him now?"

"Sorry," she mumbled, fighting not to show her anger and upset.

"No, it's not-" Neville looked just as embarrassed. "It's just that you have as bad a reputation as me when it comes to spells. I didn't mean any offence."

Relieved that that was all, she rolled her eyes. "That's just in Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts. This was one of the first Charms that Drac- the first Charm I learned. Look. " So saying, she turned to the cut on Banulph's arm. Having been in Charms lessons with her, he knew her to be surprisingly skillful, and held it out for her to Heal it, silently chanting the spell to knit the skin back together.

Convinced, Neville allowed her to cast the same spell on his wounds.

"Non-verbal?" Lavender asked, impressed.

Eva nodded. "It's a good idea to practise being quiet. Being overheard can be a bad thing." _"I hope they didn't realise what_ that _was referring to,"_ she winced, although, with Ginny's absence, nobody present should know the full truth about her childhood.

"You should be a Healer," Seamus said, "with that kind of skill."

"A Healer? I've never thought of that, but I'd love it. Rubbish bedside manner though, telling them all to stop complaining and get out of bed."

The Irish boy grinned. "That's what they need, most of the time."

"Here's the potion," Ginny called. "Any of you who had Cruciatus used on you, take a sip of this."

They passed round the bottle.

"That's amazing," Neville said, shaking his head in disbelief as he swallowed. "It's almost like it never happened."

"But it did," Seamus remarked. "And it will again, mark my words."

"Then we'll have to do something against it," Neville smiled, but there was no humour in it, only grim determination. "We'll have to fight back. Harry's off doing Dumbledore's business, but there'll be a fight in the end. And he'll need our help, which we can't give if the Carrows have ground us all down. We need to keep reminding people not to give up, to show Snape that there's still loyalty to Dumbledore at this school."

"Sounds great," Parvati sighed, "but what can we do?"

"Bring back Dumbledore's Army, of course."

* * *

Later that same evening, as they put away the ingredients that the girls had stolen, Ginny explained to Colin what had happened in Potions.

He grinned, obviously impressed by the discovery. "Wow! How did you know about that?" he asked Eva. "You're not actually Hermione in disguise, are you? Reading your textbooks before you get to school?"

Ginny frowned, looking at the other girl. "Colin's right, but I didn't think of it before. How did you know about it? Actually, don't take this the wrong way, but how did you get into NEWT-Level Potions. You weren't exactly very good last year."

Eva feigned shock. "You consider blowing up half the school's supply of cauldrons 'not very good'?" She sighed. "I know I wasn't. But I had a pretty good theoretical knowledge. I do have that in most subjects. I just can't do any practicals except Charms, since I usually never practised it before. That's how I managed not to fail _all _my OWLs - I passed the ones like History of Magic, where I didn't need a practical."

"Why are you so good at the theory?" Colin asked, surprised.

Deliberately avoiding Ginny's gaze, Eva looked out the window. _'Only Ginny, Luna and Hermione know the full story about my past. She'll know, and I don't want to see that knowledge in her eyes." _She debated whether to tell Colin the truth, but something in her cringed from the idea of him knowing those most humiliating secrets. "Let's just say that I had a lot of free time in my childhood," she answered, her tone light. "Reading was a good distraction."

Colin was sufficiently deterred by this but Ginny, to Eva's surprise, persevered. Before, her friends had always shown a welcome lack of curiosity about her past. But when she heard Ginny's question, she realised that it didn't quite fall into that category - her life before Hogwarts - that they mostly avoided.

"But you managed to brew the potion today. Which, to be honest, was almost a first."

"That's because I paid attention. You don't need practise in Potions, you need to concentrate on what you're doing. I never really did that, not until my exam." Eva grimaced. "There were too many distractions last year. Maybe with a smaller class size, I was better at concentrating."

_'Or maybe I've got better at tuning out what everyone else calls 'background sounds'. Practice makes perfect after all, and now I've been fully immersed in the world for a year. I'm still several years behind everyone else, but I don't glance up every time that another conversation starts. That was always a problem, especially in the Great Hall. Didn't exactly help me make friends either, not when I couldn't pay attention to what they were saying. There was just too much going on!"_

* * *

It didn't take nearly as long as Eva had expected to contact everyone about Dumbledore's Army. They sent the message to the enchanted Galleons that night. Maybe people had kept them close out of nostalgia, maybe the few who still missed it, like Luna, had spread the word. Whatever it was, all the old members seemed to know by the next morning. They had scheduled the first meeting for that weekend.

For most of them, the week passed unbearably slow. But for Eva, her stomach constantly heavy with dread, Saturday came round all too quick.

The Gryffindors began to leave as soon as the time was approaching. Ginny, having finally finished her Transfiguration homework, stood up to go.

"Bye," Eva said dully. "Have fun."

Ginny stared at her blankly for a second, before laughing. "Oh, come on. Just because you weren't a member back in fifth year doesn't mean you can't come now."

Eva stared at her. "Really?"

"Yes! Now get a move on, we're going to be late."

Eva still hung back. "Ginny, almost everyone at school hates me. They're not going to want me there."

"They will once they see what you're like."

"They saw what I was like last year, and it only made them hate me more!" Eva snapped.

Ginny looked at her thoughtfully. "True. No offence, but you were really awful last year. To most people, anyway. Why are you so different now? Not that I'm complaining."

Eva wasn't offended. She knew exactly what Ginny meant. Last year she would have been more likely to drive someone away with an insulting comment than give them the time of day. "I'm not sure, but I think it was this summer. Hanging out with Luna, I got out of practise. Whereas normally, ever since Dobby left a few years ago, I would have only talked to Draco. He isn't exactly the right person to talk to if you want to be less insulting. He uses insults as part of daily conversation." She paused. "I think he got it from Snape."

Ginny grinned viciously. "Well, we're about to go think of some insults to give back to Snape. Come on!" Dragging Eva along, they hurried along deserted staircases to the Room.

* * *

**I hope everyone understood the explanation about why Eva wasn't good at Potions last year - when you spend your life mostly on your own, you don't get practised at tuning out the sounds around you, especially when listening to them could help her hide from certain people. And why she was so good at Charms - if you remember, it was one of the things that Draco thought she would find most useful, so it was mainly what he taught her.**

**I'm now going to repeat myself myself. **

**Sorry, that was uncalled for. **

**Anyway, review!**

**:D**


	36. Chapter 36

**This chapter is quite short, compared to previous ones. All I can say is - blame my workload!**

**But don't blame my reviewers, as they are all wonderful! I hope you all return to review this chapter too - SuzieGeorge, Someone aka Me, cyiusblack, Likewow5556, Jarka, PrincessSophie21, talapadme, notwolf, gogguli, Moromu and Arlath's Daughter.**

**Previously: After Snape and the Carrows began their reign of terror, Neville and the others decided to restart Dumbledore's Army - and this time Ginny invited Eva.**

* * *

When they entered the Room of Requirement, Eva blinked in surprise. She'd been in this room only twice before – once to watch a video, once to cry in privacy. Both times it had been different, although she'd taken little notice of her surroundings during her second visit. This time, though, it had filled itself with lots of squashy armchairs and comfy sofas. They were all pointing to the front of the room.

Eva and Ginny took two of the last vacant seats, right up at the front. Soon after, Neville stood up.

"Right, if that's everyone?" He looked over them. "So, we're all here because of the Carrows. They're a problem, as several of my fellow detentionees will recall."

There were fervent nods.

"Unfortunately, we can't get rid of them. We can't fight them openly, not yet. We're outnumbered and inexperienced."

"Great way to cheer us up," shouted a Hufflepuff seventh year.

"Zacharias Smith," Ginny whispered in Eva's ear. Eva still wasn't sure on the names of anyone outside her year, whilst Ginny had had previous DA meetings and a whole four extra years to learn them.

Neville flushed, but continued valiantly. "And that situation isn't being helped by the fact that we don't even have lessons where we learn to defend ourselves any more. Instead we have lessons where You-Know-Who's propaganda is forced down our throat."

"Hear, hear!" Someone called out.

"We might be small, but we can still make a difference. We can keep up the spirits of the younger students, whilst making life as difficult for Snape and the Carrows as we can. And we can learn to defend ourselves. Because I don't know about you, but when the time comes to fight – and it will come, I'm going to be there and I want to take out as many Death Eaters with me as I can!"

Ginny clapped and the rest of the room took up the cheering.

"So, what do we do first?" a Hufflepuff girl, Susan Bones, asked.

"I guess we need to elect a leader. Potter's gone so he's not doing it," It was the same Hufflepuff boy who had shouted out before.

The Hufflepuff girl who had had the detention stared at him. "Are you mad, Zach? Neville's our leader."

Neville looked embarrassed. "Thanks Hannah, but I don't know if I'm-"

A broad boy who Ginny identified as Ernie Macmillan spoke up. "All those in favour of Neville as leader?"

All over the room, hands went up. "Looks like it's unanimous, mate." Seamus grinned.

"Uh, okay." Neville said awkwardly. "I guess I can try. But I think I should have deputies. I know Harry didn't officially, but he kind of did. Ron and Hermione basically were and anyway, it wasn't as dangerous in fifth year. Umbridge might have been mean with a quill," a few people flinched in memory, "but the Carrows are playing it tougher."

People nodded in agreement.

"I reckon that Ginny and Luna should be my deputies," Neville went on. "They were at the Ministry too, and they were in the battle last summer. Plus if the Death Eaters decide that once we're of age, we're a threat, they've still got a year."

Everyone seemed to be fine with this plan. "_Good idea,"_ Eva thought. "_Though the thought of_ Luna _commanding people is a bit odd."_

"Any questions?" Neville asked.

"I have one," Zacharias Smith said. "Where are Potter, Granger and Weasley?"

Nobody spoke. All eyes turned to Ginny, including Eva's. She'd asked that question on their first night, and, after confessing that she knew very little, the two of them had worked out what she should say.

Undaunted, Ginny watched them calmly. "As far as the Ministry knows, Ron is ill at home," she said. "And I don't know where the other two are."

Her words did not convince anyone.

"But what are they doing?" Smith persisted.

"Something that Dumbledore left them to do. And all you need to know about it is that."

Eva and Ginny had decided that it was best that people didn't realise how little Ginny knew. The vaguer she was, the more rumours that would start. And hopefully, rumours would hide any traces of the truth that might be discovered.

"Anyone else?" Neville questioned.

"We should tell people," Luna's dreamy voice contributed.

Neville nodded. "You're right. We need to tell the other students that the DA is back in business, and tell the Carrows. We've lost a lot of members too, one way or another. We need to recruit."

Terry Boot frowned. "Yeah," he agreed, "but we can't let them find out where we are. If we get caught…" he left the end of the sentence trailing.

"Make sure you can trust someone before you bring them along," Ginny suggested. "Most people probably should be okay. It's not like in fifth year, when a lot of people were for the Ministry. With the exception of Slytherin, pretty much everyone is anti You-Know-Who."

"Speaking of untrustworthy people," Zacharias Smith drawled, "Why is _she _here?"

Eva didn't need to look to know who he was talking about. But she looked anyway and met his eyes straight-on.

The room was silent. The Gryffindor seventh years looked angry, as did the boy whose cuts Eva had healed.

Most of the others looked uncertain though, even her own class mates. With the exception of Colin, Ginny and Luna, the first two of whom started insulting Zacharias for all they were worth.

Neville cut through them. "Because she fought with the six of us last summer and she is as trustworthy as Ginny, or Luna, or Ernie, or Seamus or any of you."

"But she's a Malfoy," a Ravenclaw seventh year objected. "She's related to most of those Death Eaters that we're fighting against."

Ginny glared at him. "So are most of the people in this room. So am I, so is Neville, so was Harry if you go back far enough. Are you going to blame them? Think of Sirius Black, who _died_ for the Order of the Phoenix. What about Professor Lupin? He's married to Bellatrix's niece. Do you think she's untrustworthy?"

The others fell silent. Once again, Neville took control. "If that's dealt with," he announced. "Who has an idea for getting people's attention?"

For a while, nobody spoke. Then Seamus grinned. "I think I just might."

* * *

**So, what do you think his idea is?**

**What would your idea be?**

**You'll find out what it's going to be in this story when I update, which I promise will be soon**

**But review, and it might be sooner!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Thank you for reviewing! - iluvwriting, SuzieGeorge, gogguli, Jaddabeanx, cyiusblack, notwolf, Moromu, Arlath's Daughter, Likewow5556, Someone aka Me, Jarka, talapadme, The Breeze, PrincessSophie21 and Admiral Andalite. **

**I hope this lives up to your expectations**

**Previously: The DA reformed, and Seamus had an idea to tell the whole school that they were back**

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It took over a week to organise. Not a single student could be left out, so someone had to talk to each year, work out how many missing students there were and what their names were.

Each member of the DA took a different year group from their house, Colin taking Gryffindor first years, Ginny taking the second years whilst Luna took Ravenclaw second years. Nobody bothered to contact Slytherins – without any Muggleborns in their House, why would anyone be missing?

Eva had to admit that it was a fantastic idea. When Snape and the Carrows woke up the next morning, seeing the names of every missing student engraved on the walls of the school....it would be such a bonus in morale, for everyone.

The sixteen of them divided into pairs. They were given an area of the school and a list of names, then let loose. Thanks to her skill in Charms, especially Disillusionment Charms, Eva was one of the chosen few.

They all gathered in the Room before curfew, then waited until midnight.

Neville checked they all knew what to do. "If you're discovered, send a message through the coins, and everyone else needs to get back to their Common Rooms. Does anyone not know the incantation for writing the names? And don't forget the colours." They had decided, to make the names stand out further, that they would enchant each name to shine with their house colours.

"Everyone know where they're going?"

A general nod.

"Right. Once Eva, Terry or Anthony has cast a Disillusionment Charm on you, go."

Eva cast the charm on Ginny and Colin as they headed for the Transfiguration classroom, then Parvati and Padma as they descended to the dungeons for the Potions room. They'd been given one of the hardest jobs, seeing as how it was so far to escape from the dungeons and there was the danger of waking the Slytherins or Snape. But as twins, they worked so well together that they would be able to cope.

Once only the three charm-casters and Neville were left, they performed the Charm on themselves and split into their own pairs, the two Ravenclaws and the two Gryffindors went their separate ways. They'd split into pairs within their own House, wherever possible, since it made escape easier.

Neville had saved the best room for himself and Eva - the Great Hall, of course. So whilst Neville started carving the names inside the Hall, Eva began the inscription above the doors.

They did it all in silence, knowing that any whisper could attract Filch. It was tense work. Every time that Eva thought she heard a footfall behind her (which was often), she extinguished her Lumos and froze. But it never turned out to be anything, and neither did the thousand times that she checked her coin, certain she had felt it burning.

They couldn't have finished soon enough for her, but in the end she was done. She cast the Permanence Charm on and went in to see how Neville was doing. Frowning in concentration, he was etching the last letter into the stone.

When he had finished, he turned and saw Eva. They still didn't speak, but through nods of communication, they agreed to return to the Common Room. The embers of the fire still glowed, illuminating empty chairs and tables. At last they broke the oppressive silence that had weighed in on them throughout the hour or so while they had been out there.

"Are we the first ones back?" Eva asked.

"Dunno. I told everyone to go to bed when they finished, so that if some of us were caught, we wouldn't be waiting up like sitting ducks."

"I suppose we should go to our rooms then."

Neville nodded. Both seemed reluctant to go, frightened of finding out if the others were there. They had been the last to leave. They shouldn't be the first ones to return.

At last Eva, unable to bear the suspense, went to check her room. But it was empty. Ginny's bed was unwrinkled. Knowing that she shouldn't, Eva went to the seventh year girl's dorm. One of the four beds was occupied, but, alongside Hermione's vacant corner, Lavender's and Parvati's lay empty.

Worried now, Eva went down to change into her nightclothes. _"I know I should go to sleep now, but how?" _She lay on her bed, but sleep eluded her.

After what felt like hours, but was in reality only a few minutes, she got up again. Pulling a cloak over her nightclothes, she crept to the top of the stairs. That way she would be able to see if someone came back, and would be able to escape if the Carrows turned up.

A dark figure moved down by the fire. Every muscle froze. She didn't dare breathe. The figure continued to move, searching for something. Her mind screaming in fright, she sat motionless. Then the figure bumped into a chair and let out an 'Ow!'

_"I recognise that voice,"_ she realised.

"Neville?" she hissed.

Neville jumped. "Eva!" He whispered back. "You should have gone to bed!"

"And you shouldn't?"

There was a long moment of silence. Then Neville reluctantly spoke "Seamus isn't back yet."

"Neither is Ginny. Or Parvati and Lavender." Eva paused. "What about Colin?"

"I didn't check. But if Ginny's still gone, then he will be too. They were paired together."

"What were you looking for?"

Eva could hear Neville's embarrassment as he replied. "My cloak. I was going to wear it over my pyjamas so I could make a quick getaway if the Carrows came."

"Same as what I'm doing." There was a noise by the portrait hole and their conversation abruptly broke off.

The portrait opened then closed, without anyone seeming to have come in. Then there were twin mutters of "Finite Incantatum" and a pair of people slowly took shape. Eva saw the flash of red hair first, and her heart leapt. But then she realised that the hair in question was short and more sandy-coloured than Ginny's fire. And that the brunette was female, not male.

"Seamus! Lavender!" Neville whispered.

Both of them looked up. "Neville, you nearly gave me a heart attack. What're you doing over there?" Seamus asked, his breathing audible in the nearly empty room.

"Waiting for you."

"Didn't you say not to do that?" There was amusement in Seamus' tone.

But Lavender had other things on her mind. "Does that mean we're the only four back?"

Eva nodded then, realising they could not see her, spoke. "Yes. Parvati, Ginny and Colin are still out there. There's been nothing on the coins though."

"But if they were caught, they might have not had time to send a message," Lavender fretted.

Thankfully, her fears were cut off by the opening of the portrait hole once more. Her charm already removed, Parvati stepped through.

Lavender's face was a picture of relief. "It went okay then?" she whispered.

Parvati looked up. "Yeah. Didn't run into anyone, not even Filch. They must think we're all too scared to do anything."

"Not even bothering to patrol," Neville agreed. "It seems to have gone without a hitch."

But Ginny and Colin still weren't back. Lavender and Parvati followed Neville's instructions to go to bed. Seamus frowned at him.

"And are you not having to obey your own rules?" His tone was light, but it seemed unhappy. "You won't be able to help them by waiting here."

Neville sighed and stretched. "I guess not." He looked at Eva. "You shouldn't wait up either." But he said it in a way that told Eva he didn't expect her to listen. And she didn't.

She sat there for another half hour, spinning the coin over and over in her fingers. She had to resist the temptation to send them a message, knowing that it would cause everyone's Galleons to burn, terrifying the other anxious DA members. When the clock struck three, she finally stood up. Then promptly sat back down again.

_"Just another hour," _she rationalised to herself. The more sensible part of her wasn't impressed. It reminded her that it was a Monday tomorrow, that she had both Muggle Studies and Dark Arts and that she had to be able to concentrate. But the arguments were futile against the millions of scenarios that her mind conjured up, courtesy of unpleasant memories of what the Carrows were capable of and her fertile imagination.

"_Was that a noise!" _She leaned forward. It wasn't the first time she had done so, far from it. The crackling of the fire, the creaking of the old castle, even the portraits moving around in the wind all became the footfalls of her friends, or their captors, approaching the Common Room. But this time it was real. The portrait hole swung open, the Fat Lady's complaints audible for a brief second.

Then two figures, stood in the room. They were only visible in places, where the Disillusionment Charm was beginning to wear off. Yet it was unmistakeably Colin and Ginny.

If Eva had been brought up religious, she would have offered a prayer of thanksgiving. As it was, she collapsed on her knees, relief flooding her every pore. Silently she began to creep back to her room. "_You don't want them to know that you waited up this late- or early."_

But her legs had gone numb from being sat down so long, and she stumbled on the steps.

"Who's there!" Ginny called, her voice unreadable.

"Just me," Eva replied softly.

"You waited up for us?" Colin exclaimed. "After Neville said-"

"I know, but you've been so long. You left first. You should have been back long before now."

The Common Room was light enough now for her to just about see their faces. They looked unbelievably tired and stressed. "Filch was hanging around and he thought he heard something," Ginny explained. "We had to sit in a cupboard, waiting for nearly an hour, until he gave up."

"Is everyone else back?" Colin asked.

"Yeah." Now that she was no longer frightened for what had happened, Eva felt exhaustion taking over her. "At least, all the Gryffindors are. And there's been nothing on the coins, so I expect the others are safe."

After the long, long night, her bed had never felt so blissful, not even on the first night she had slept at Hogwarts.

* * *

**Did you like the idea? **

**If you did, I can't claim full credit. A large part of the inspiration came from the fanfiction story: Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness, by Thanfiction. Go read it, it's long (longer than DH) and really, really good. It's the seventh year from Neville's point of view.**

**Anyway, review this too though! And don't leave me when you've found his amazing work.**

**x**


	38. Chapter 38

**Thank you for reviewing - Jarka, iluvwriting, PrincessSophie21, notwolf, gogguli, Arlath's Daughter, talapadme, Boo81393, Likewow5556, Someone aka Me, Moromu and Arthur**

**Cookies for all! (or tinned tuna for my feline reviewer) **

**And everyone - review! This chapter! I want to check I'm still on the right track with this.**

**Previously: The DA reformed and staged a publicity stunt - engraving the names of their missing students all over the school.**

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"Eva!" the voice had a sense of urgency about it. "Eva!"

"What," she moaned, rolling over. She felt like she had barely fallen asleep.

"It's time to get up. If we sleep in, they'll be suspicious. Besides, don't you want to see their faces?"

That woke her up. Grinning she swung her legs out of bed. "Can't wait," she agreed. "It's going to be hilarious."

She peered into the mirror for a second, but regretted it when it made a sound of disgust. She glared at it. Unlike some mirrors, which were funny and complimentary, their room had somehow ended up with the snobbiest female mirror in the entire school. Eva's hair, which took hours to tame into something which resembled a hairstyle rather than a haystack, was the mirror's constant complaint, which it was sure to voice as loudly and irritatingly as it could. Particularly since Eva had given up spending much time over it, resulting in it just being scraped back anyway that Eva could, and then scraped back again an hour later, when it was sure to have begun to escape into a ball around her head.

The instant they started down the great staircase that led to the main hall, they could tell something was different. Students were crowded below, all talking in loud voices at the same time.

Eva and Ginny took the stairs two at a time. Then stood on the second to last step, all the better to see.

And what a sight it was. It flashed above the door, every colour of the rainbow, pink and purple – colours rarely seen at Hogwarts.

Eva's eyes traced the words. They had tried to write them all in the same script, in case somebody tried to recognise handwriting, and had pretty much succeeded. But to Eva's familiar eye, the letters were distinctively hers, the curve of the S and the flick of the R unmistakable.

"Dumbledore's Army: Still Recruiting," Ginny read happily.

They stood there for a long moment, regarding the sign with pride. Then Eva saw a blonde head making her way through the crowd. "_Oh, thank Merlin," _she thought. While yesterday she had been able to assure herself, not knowing any better, that Luna was fine, the anxiety had been building up. But now she could see that the Ravenclaw was unscathed and uncaptured.

Once Luna had reached them, Eva smiled at her. "Sleep well?" she asked cheerily.

"Very deeply, thank you." Luna replied, her eyes big and truthful.

"I think we should get into the Great Hall," Ginny interrupted. "See what's for breakfast," Her meaning wasn't lost on the other two and they easily agreed. Actually entering the Hall was hard; so many students had stopped in the doorway, transfixed by what they were seeing. Seeing Neville's handiwork for the first time, Eva couldn't blame them.

Behind Alecto's scowling face was the inscription "Hermione Granger," the letters glowing in gold. "Ron Weasley", written in red, behind Amycus. And the crowning piece, suspended above Snape's greasy locks?

"Harry Potter," of course, flashing both gold and red and emitting the occasional spark which landed by Snape's pale, long-fingered hands.

He was tapping his fingers on the table, his expression inscrutable. Not so the two Carrows - they were glowering, and kept casting angry looks at the inscriptions behind them. The rest of the professors, on the other hand, were finding it hard to contain their joy. McGonagall didn't show many outward signs of it, but there was the slightest twist to her lips which could have been a smile, and was reminiscent of the expression she had worn as Gryffindor won House Cup after House Cup, not to mention the Quidditch Cup.

"_Don't look proud," _Eva cautioned herself. "_That's exactly how they'll catch you." _Assuming an expression of stunned delight, she followed to Ginny to the Gryffindor table where they took their seats by Colin.

"Nice day, isn't it?" Colin remarked.

"One of the best," Eva agreed.

The gossip flew about the school at breathtaking speed. By lunchtime, it seemed that every name had been found and commented on.

Justin Finch-Fletchley, engraved in a sunflower yellow above Greenhouse Four. Rebecca Armley was written in Transfiguration, and McGonagall did everything she could to draw attention to it. Cedric Diggory, illuminated in black and white, by the prefect's bathroom. Seline Vance, high on the Astronomy tower. Mandy Brocklehurst, Padma's friend and the Ravenclaw equivalent of Lavender, on the wall beneath the Divination trapdoor.

Professor Flitwick actually pointed out the name written in Charms, using it as an example of an excellently cast 'Metamorphosis Charm'. Even Professor Trelawney's predictions seemed unusually relevant - in her tealeaves she saw what was apparently the unmistakeable shape of a phoenix overtaking a skull.

Eva herself saw 'Kevin Entwhistle', a particularly quick Ravenclaw, enscribed in the Potions dungeon. And of course, in the Carrows' lessons, there was 'Wayne Hopkins' in Dark Arts, who had gone to the Ministry for registration and ended up in Azkaban. And in Muggle Studies, written so bright that it dazzled you, 'Dean Thomas.'

Understandably, they had given their own friends and acquaintances priority in the classrooms. But nobody had been forgotten. Littering the corridors were over fifty names, down to the smallest first-year. McGonagall's obstinance in the Sorting had helped them there. First-years who were already frightened remembered the names that had been read out, confusing and worrying them when they were the next in the line.

Both Carrows had been in a predictably bad mood, and had dished out more curses and detentions than usual. But nothing could damp the DA's euphoria, especially when they discovered that twenty extra people had already approached known members, like Ginny, Ernie and Neville, looking to join.

Even at dinner, when Snape announced that Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood had to report to his office (over the audible growls and narrowed eyes that could be heard at this reminder that he now sat in Dumbledore's office), the three of them stood defiantly.

Ginny actually remarked that it was better than going to the Carrow detention she had earned. Eva couldn't sympathise. Although she had patched up a growing number of students on their return from a detention, and was already preparing to brew another batch of the Rilassare Potion, as their supplies were nearly exhausted, she had somehow avoided receiving a detention.

The Carrows hadn't hesitated to torture her during the lesson, but they seemed strangely wary of commanding her to turn up at seven o'clock. Eva had spent numerous hours trying to figure out why this was, but had come up with a blank and finally resolved that she should just count herself lucky.

Despite the good spirits of the three of them, they still returned to an anxious crowd of students, all of whom had gathered in the Room of Requirement. It was the only place where lots of people from different Houses could meet in safety any more. The library, the Great Hall, the corridors; they were all too risky.

"So?" Eva asked nervously.

"Nothing," Ginny answered, flopping into her favourite chair. "Just asked us if we were behind it, which we denied, then went on for a while about the importance of being part of Hogwarts and the values of blood purity."

The listeners snorted derisively. "I kept waiting for him to give us detention," Neville said, looking pensive. "But he just dismissed us, eventually."

"No evidence," Anthony Goldstein said.

"When has that ever stopped them?" Seamus snorted.

"I couldn't pay much attention though," Neville frowned. "It was too wrong, being in the Headmaster's office but Dumbledore being missing."

"Didn't help that Snape was standing right in front of the Sword," Ginny agreed.

"The Sword?" Eva asked, bewildered.

"The Sword of Gryffindor," Luna supplied. "Comes to those who show true Gryffindor spirit. Harry received it in our first year."

"He used it to slay the Basilisk," Colin added.

"And now it's hanging on Snape's wall," Ginny said angrily. "The most cowardly man in the wizarding world and _he _has the Sword. It's not right."

Eva had her own personal doubts about Snape being the most cowardly man – she would have put him runner-up, behind the boy who'd been so cowardly that he tried to kill Dumbledore without ever looking him in the eye. Still, she murmured in agreement with Ginny's sentiment, along with most of the listening students.

Colin suddenly beamed.

"What is it?" Neville asked him.

"Who do you think should have the sword?" he replied.

"Harry, of course," Susan answered.

"Then we should get it to him." He looked round. "Think how upset it would make Snape, not to mention You-Know-Who, to discover that the Sword had gone to his worst enemy. And think how it would raise people's spirits if they heard that Harry had it!"

Slowly, people grinned. Then one of the Ravenclaws, Michael Corner, frowned.

"How would people find out?" he said thoughtfully.

"Daddy really enjoyed printing that story about Harry in fifth-year," Luna said. "It was one of our best ever print runs. I expect he'd like to try again."

"Even if we don't manage to steal it," Ernie pointed out, "The _Quibbler_ could still print all the news that the _Prophet_ isn't getting out, pro-Order articles and the like."

It was Zacharias Smith who came up with the next obstacle. "How do we get into Snape's office?" he drawled. "Don't suppose he mentioned the password to you?"

This proved to be a problem for some time. Yet it was overcome in the end, and to Eva's delight, it was she who came up with the solution.

"Dobby," she said, startled by how simple the solution was.

"What's a dobby?" someone asked.

"He's a house-elf," Ginny replied. "And he can follow Snape until he discovers the password. Eva, that's perfect!"

* * *

**Hope you liked it!**

**Hope you review.**

**Press that button/hyperlink/whatever you want to call it.**

**You know you want to. It's calling to youuuuuuuu! (if the button actually is calling to you, could you tell me what it's saying? It's never spoken to me yet, and I'm quite upset that it's left me out.)**

**x :D**

**(and I'm just adding extra words now, so that my chapter word count is a round number. Okay?)**


	39. Chapter 39

This isn't new, it's just a correction, thanks to A2 who mentioned that she tastes her first butterbeer twice! Thank you!

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**Guess what? It's nearly Christmas! We just had the first snow of the Christmas season, and it's put me in a festive mood. Especially because it was real, thick snow. So thick that we can't get the car out and I have to walk everywhere. And that fact would upset me, if anything other than snow had forced me to do it.**

***when it snows, ain't it thrillin'  
though your nose, gets a chillin'***

**Sorry, but I've got Christmas songs on the brain.**

**Thank you if you reviewed. Mince pies all round! (unless you don't like them, which I don't really. In which case - chocolate! – ctc, talapadme, MadelineCullen, PrincessSophie21, SuzieGeorge, Arlath's Daughter, gogguli, Stardawn, Jarka, Boo81393, Likewow5556, notwolf, Someone aka Me, cyiusblack, iluvwriting and Moromu!**

**Previously: The DA advertised their existence, and developed a plot to ask Dobby to get the password to Snape's office, so that they could get the Sword of Gryffindor. **

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**

Dobby was only too eager to oblige. Eva had worried that he might be prevented by some magical law but, as a free elf, he was able to do what he wanted. And he wanted to help them, though whether it was to help her or Harry or to spite his former owners, she didn't know.

It took a few weeks though, which gave them time to settle who exactly was going. At first Neville had wanted to go alone, his reasons being that it was very dangerous and they couldn't afford to lose a lot of people. Ginny had pointed out that for the exact same reasons, she should go, since he was the person they could least afford to lose. In her usual, unconcerned manner, Luna had remarked that she was least likely to be suspected, so she should go. When anyone other than the three of them tried to go, it was pointed out that they didn't know the layout of the office. In the end they had ended up with all three of them, Luna, Ginny and Neville taking part.

They wouldn't have had a problem with finding people though. The numbers of the DA had actually doubled. Two female Ravenclaw seventh-years joined, a Hufflepuff girl and several of Eva's year, including four Gryffindors, two Ravenclaw girls and five Hufflepuffs.

But these hadn't been an issue– they had agreed that anyone of fifth year and above should be able to join and to fight. But their consciences refused to let them allow thirteen and fourteen year olds risk torture, let alone those of eleven and twelve. Not to mention the difficulty in trying to train a group of people with such a wide skill gap.

In the end, Parvati had come up with the solution. Anyone about fifth year joined the DA which would take part in anti-Carrow action, whilst the younger pupils could turn up to sessions in the Room of Requirement which were closer to what the original DA had been, teaching students spells and jinxes that should have been taught in Defence Against the Dark Arts. The older students had these sessions too, but at a more advanced level.

Eva had worried at first that she would have to attend the younger students' training sessions, since she was extremely weak in this area. But this fate had been averted by another duty they had all started – someone had discovered that, if there was someone inside, they could get the Room of Requirement to open a door anywhere.

This was more than slightly necessary; the Carrows had discovered where the DA were meeting and had started to stake it out, lying in wait for them to arrive. But since sixth and seventh year students had free periods, someone could always be sat in the Room, starting from times early enough to avoid the Carrows. Whenever Ginny and Eva had a free lesson at the same time, Ginny would coach her friend on the spells and hexes that she knew. This way, Eva slowly but surely improved, although she did take part in the younger kids' lessons when it was Ginny's turn to teach it, keeping her friend company.

When the time came for the meeting, the student inside the Room could will it to open doorways outside the three Common Rooms and vast groups of students would vanish. Even once the Carrows suspected this and sent students to wait outside the Common Rooms, they just moved the meeting place into bedrooms, like Neville's, where all the occupants were DA supporters. They kept the meeting times irregular, so everyone kept their coins close at hand.

They also set up a mini Potions lab in the Room, so that Blood-Replenishing Potions, Healing Potions and Rilassare Potion was readily available.

Of course, the Carrows' anger and the huge rise in supporters probably had a lot to do with the carvings that still adorned the walls of the school. It was a mystery to the DA why Snape hadn't taken them down, although they did know that the Carrows probably weren't capable of it. Even after six weeks, they were still glowing brightly, although they were emitting less sparks than before.

* * *

Walking back from a late night rush to the library (despite the Carrows' presence at Hogwarts, some professors were still setting the full complement of NEWT work) Eva heard a soft sound. Had it been another student, this time last year, they would have dismissed it and walked on. But in the newly tense environment that had formed with the appearance of the Carrows, and with Eva's less-than-normal background, she reacted instantly.

Her wand was in her hand before she had even thought about it, and she was wheeling around, her back to the wall as she scanned the passage for the appearance of any living thing. "Who's there?" she asked warily.

"Nobody," a voice replied.

She rolled her eyes. An answer like that didn't deserve anything else.

"Nobody who's going to hurt you," the voice clarified. Eva frowned, trying to identify it, but it was impossible. It didn't even sound remotely familiar.

It continued to speak, saying "Just trust me, alright."

"Yeah, because I make a habit of trusting disembodied voices," she retorted. "What do you want?"

"All I wanted to tell you is that if you ever need to get stuff into the Slytherin Common Room, let me know."

Eva was silent for a moment as she digested this information. Finally, she asked,

"You're a Slytherin? And you're trying to help the DA?" She frowned. "And why did you come to me, not one of the more famous DA members?"

"I hoped that your…background might make you more willing to trust a Slytherin, unlike some of the people you would call friends."

Eva knew she should distrust them, but she couldn't see what she had to lose. 'After all,' she thought, 'I can turn them in, or just not take them up on the offer.'

"Alright," she said aloud. "How am I supposed to contact you?"

A piece of paper drifting down from the ceiling was her only answer. "Melodramatic," she remarked to the empty corridor. "Not a particularly Slytherin trait."

Looking at the paper, she read the words that were written on it. "Write on this, and I'll get the message. I can send you messages the same way. And don't tell anyone."

She tucked the paper safely into her bag, and continued back to the Common Room, eyes and ears back on alert.

* * *

Meanwhile the classes continued. They learned ever more complex spells, including perfecting the Patronus Charm. Eva gazed in delight at the beautiful and fierce wolf which appeared from her wand to defend her, whilst laughing at the antics of Luna's hare. She nearly split her side laughing when Luna's hare pulled the tail of her dignified wolf, causing it to turn and snap at it with silver fangs. Of course, the hare Patronus being Luna's, it merely brushed this off before returning to its usual, high-spirited self.

When Colin's Patronus, on the other hand, appeared, she found that the wolf threw off its proud, independent air and would mess around with the big dog like a pair of puppies.

She didn't know exactly what Colin's Patronus was, although one person stated with authority that it was a 'Golden Retriever.' How he could tell, she had no idea, particularly when it had no Golden tint about it, but was the silver glint of every Patronus.

These light-hearted games were balanced by the darkness of the school days they all endured. Not forgetting their purpose, they made sure to distribute as many copies of the Quibbler as possible, and various other minor irritants.

They recruited Peeves into singing songs that would irritate Snape and the Carrows the most. They took advantage of Ginny's regular deliveries of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes products to disrupt Carrow lessons. They enchanted various suits of armour to storm the Great Hall one lunchtime and start proclaiming facts about Harry Potter and insulting Voldemort and Snape at the top of their voices. Leaflets promoting the DA somehow made their way into the Slytherin Common Room, although it was a mystery to most DA members how this had taken place. Not Ginny though - Eva had told her everything, despite what the paper had said. Ginny, as one of the more senior members of the DA, would be able to use the knowledge better in the DA's plans.

* * *

A week before Halloween, Eva and Luna were returning from one of their periods in the Room. They'd meant to spend the time finishing their Potions homework, but had done rather a lot more talking than working.

A loud crack abruptly interrupted their conversation. Dobby appeared in front of them, looking overjoyed.

"Dobby?" Eva asked, surprised.

The elf bowed and nodded, his grin making his face look even odder.

"Dobby has been following Professor Snape, Miss. He is very careful about nobody finding out the password, but Dobby discovered it eventually."

Understanding struck them both at the same instant. Luna looked, as was customary for her, as though someone had merely mentioned that someone had remembered the date of their dentist appointment was on, a mixture of polite interest and calmness.

This didn't discourage Dobby from revealing the password. Signalling to Eva to lean down, he whispered it nervously in her ear.

"Thank you, Dobby," she replied. "You've been immensely helpful."

The elf, if it was possible, looked even happier. "Thank you, Miss Eva! If you are needing Dobby for anything, please ask." He chirped, before disappearing with another crack.

That evening, at a meeting Neville had immediately called, Eva handed round the piece of paper that she had written the password on.

"Gigolo?" Zacharias Smith read out.

The girls rolled their eyes as one. "Giglio," Alyssa, a fellow Gryffindor from Eva's year sighed. "It's Italian for lily. You say it jil-yee-oh."

"Why did Snape choose that?" Padma Patil frowned.

"It doesn't matter," Ginny smiled, but there was something savage about it. "It's time to go fetch us a sword."

The planning was the easy part; Ginny, Neville and Luna had been doing it for nearly a month. Choosing a date was more difficult, but they finally settled on the night of the Halloween Feast. The three of them didn't tell anyone else exactly what they planned, since everyone knew that it was safer that way.

Still, the customary Hogsmeade visit before the trip was fraught with nerves, to say the least. Ginny, Luna and Eva sat in the Three Broomsticks, trying desperately to think of conversation. Eva drank what was only her second Butterbeer, but couldn't taste it as she had the first time.

At last Ginny and Luna had to go back, to get ready for what they were about to do. Eva would have returned with them, but she ran into Colin, also alone since his two closest friends had detentions from Amycus.

He smiled at her. "Not going back to the castle, are you?" he asked.

She sighed. "I know I shouldn't. After we went through all the stress of sneaking me out."

Eva had never had a permission slip signed but, since the sixth-years weren't usually checked for that sort of thing, she had slipped out with the rest of them. "_After all, I need to see the place if we're ever going to have to fight there. And I'd like to see it before I die." _She had reasoned morbidly.

Colin's eyes widened. "Of course, you've never been to Hogsmeade before!"

Eva shook her head.

Grinning, he took her arm. "Then you can't leave," he announced. "I'm going to have to show you everything. You haven't seen the Shrieking Shack, or visitied Honeydukes!"

**

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**

**Now, review! **

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**Wow, I want some now. But I can't eat normal ice cream - we don't have any in the house right now :(**

**x**


	40. Chapter 40

**Well, well, well. Another chapter, another author note. This is now my longest story, at 40 chapters!**

**And thank you to those people who have encouraged me to keep going this far - iluvwriting, awaylaughingonafastcamel,The Breeze, PrincessSophie21, notwolf, Moromu, Jarka, talapadme, Madeline Cullen, Likewow5556, Boo81393, gogguli, Arlath's Daughter, Someone aka Me and SuzieGeorge!**

**Previously: Ginny, Luna and Neville left on their mission to steal the Sword of Gryffindor, whilst Eva tried not to worry about them and was taken round Hogsmeade**

* * *

Colin successfully distracted Eva for nearly four hours, dragging her around everything in the little village and insisting that she try all the different varieties of fudge that Honeydukes had to offer.

But the instant that she set foot in Hogwarts again, it all came rushing back. Slowly, dragging their tired feet, they went straight to the Halloween Feast. The other three never turned up, and Eva had to excuse herself early, her stomach too unsettled to eat anything.

She left at a run, trying to get away from the chatter of her fellow pupils and the smell of food. Sinking down onto a stair, she rested her face in her hands.

Suddenly she heard footsteps approaching. "_Once that would have been Draco," _she thought morosely. "_And that's a sign of how odd I feel, that I'm thinking about him. I've managed to avoid doing that, or seeing him, since the incident on the train." _Just thinking of that moment, when she had seen the ugly black tattoo on Draco's arm, she felt even worse. She let out a soft moan of misery.

But the footsteps didn't walk past. They stopped and there was a sigh as someone sat down next to her.

"They'll be okay," a male voice murmured.

"And if they're not? Two of those three people are the last-" she bit off what she had been going to say, horrified at how much she had nearly revealed.

"They're not the last people who care about you. There's me, and there's the rest of the DA, and there's Hermione, and there's the Weasleys. Besides," and there was that characteristic smile in his voice, "there'd always be someone here for you. We're on the good side, that's how it works."

She blinked and looked at Colin. "You know that's not true."

"Sure it is," he protested. "Everyone on the good side gets on together, they win and then they live happily ever after." He silenced her protest before it got started. "That's what the books say," he teased. "And as Hermione would say, books are never wrong."

Eva smiled at him. "Of course they're not. Even when they're fiction and therefore not true."

"Fiction stories aren't true? I thought it was the other way around!"

An unexpected laugh came out at his outraged expression.

"Come on," he encouraged. "Let's go up to the Common Room. No offence, but the seats there are more comfortable."

They talked in the Common Room for a while, then Colin insisted they go to bed.

"You can't help them by falling asleep tomorrow," he said. "And don't try come down again. I was the one who saw you last time, remember. I know what you'll try."

Eva reluctantly assented. She climbed the long stairs to her bedroom and settled down to a sleepless night, book firmly in hand.

She awoke the next morning, the book on the floor where it had fallen from her limp fingers. She glanced across and her heart stopped. The other two beds in the room were empty, unslept in.

She tried to get up and nearly fell out of bed, her legs still tangled in her covers. She ripped them off and raced over to check the beds. She was right. Ginny's stuff was missing, her wand and the robes she had been wearing.

"_Stop overreacting," _she told herself. "_She's probably just gone down for breakfast."_

But she dressed at record speed and raced down to the Common Room. No sign of Ginny there, either. "_What do I do now?" _she wondered. She was saved from having to decide by a shout from above. Seconds later, a ginger hair appeared racing down the steps from the boys bedrooms.

Seamus, wearing robes that had clearly been hastily thrown on, stared at her. "Is Ginny back?" he asked urgently.

She stared at him in horror, her worst fears realised. "Maybe they just couldn't get back to the Common Room. They could be in the Room of Requirement." she said hopefully.

Even to her own ears, her protests sounded feeble. She sat down in one of the chairs. "Get dressed and get everyone else," she muttered. "I'll get the girls."

Soon they were all ready and dressed, a little knot of them anxiously milling around in the Common Room.

Seamus took a deep breath. "We should be getting down to breakfast."

Like a funeral procession, they went down in silence, Seamus leading the way, the rest of them following, two by two.

As they walked down the last flight of steps, a pair of Ravenclaw girls came out from another corridor. It was the two new DA recruits from Eva's year, Daisy and Ella. There in their dejected faces, their slumped shoulders, was the answer to Eva's unspoken question. Luna hadn't made it back last night either.

The two girls slotting in behind them, they marched through the doors of the Hall. As the last, desperate hope left her, Eva saw that Ginny wasn't sat, triumphant and grinning, at the Gryffindor table. In fact, she was nowhere to be seen. And nor was Snape.

The Gryffindors sat down dejectedly, sitting together by unspoken agreement. Most pulled toast from the stacks on the table, or helped themselves to food they didn't want. It grew cold and congealed on their plates. The bite of toast Eva had taken choked her as it went down and she put the piece down, preferring to sit and stare at a blank space on the wall instead.

Then there was a bang as the doors flew open. Snape marched in, his black robes swirling behind him. And following him, were Neville, Luna and Ginny. They seemed unharmed, but for how long would that last?

The three of them followed him up to the dais where the teacher's table stood. Once there, he turned and faced the student body. Every eye was on him, the teachers' included. McGonagall's lips were tightly pressed, but the wrinkles round her eyes creased in concern. The normally cheery Professor Flitwick looked sombre. Amycus and Alecto, on the other hand, looked nothing short of gleeful.

Snape looked around the students. "_How could I ever have thought he was decent?" _Eva thought angrily.

"Last night," he began. "These students thought they were indulge in a stupid prank, involving my office." Eva tried to control her face. She could almost hear the thoughts of the students around her, for they were the same as hers. _"Prank? So he hasn't realised what they were doing!" _A tiny seed of hope grew in her chest.

"At Hogwarts, this will not be tolerated." Snape was still speaking. "These miscreants must be punished severely, and in a different way. They have proved themselves incorrigible, as detentions do not seem to have achieved anything." He glared around at them over his hooked nose. "Therefore I have decided that if they find their lives so dull that they must amuse themselves this way, they can taste some real excitement."

The fright returned. "_What is he going to do?" _Eva thought wildly. "_Send them to You-Know-Who? To Azkaban?"_

"They will be spending the night in the Forbidden Forest," he sneered. "With Hagrid, of course, so no…fatal… harm befalls them."

At his words, Eva could feel the tension of those around her dissipating. Neville tried hard not to show it, but the relief was evident from his suddenly slumped shoulders.

She couldn't see why they were quite this relieved though. "_Sure, it's not torture or prison, but it's the Forest! Luna feels quite safe there, at least she did when I met her with the Thestrals, but we didn't go very far in. I've heard there are_ awful _things in there."_

Evidently released for now, the three of them returned to their separate tables. For a moment they all stared in silence at each other. Then the babble of voices started all at once.

"What happened?"

"When did he catch you?"

"Lucky devils, aren't you?" This last was from Seamus. He regarded Neville with relief. "Thought you were done for."

"So did I," Neville agreed, taking a huge bite of toast.

"The Forest," Ginny sighed, relieved. "It'd have been worse if he'd given us a detention. Going into the Forest with Hagrid is nothing."

Eva frowned at her. "But it's full of horrifying creatures!" she worried.

"Nah," said Neville. "Well, it is. But Hagrid's friends with most of them, and he'd scare off the rest. We got sent into the Forest in our first-year, as punishment for being out after curfew. It's not that bad."

"Especially with Hagrid," Ginny pointed out.

Suddenly ravenous, remembering she had eaten almost nothing since breakfast the day before, Eva dug into her food.

* * *

**See! Not a cliffhanger, even though I could easily have left it at one. So please review because of that!**

**I'm obviously breaking my addiction.**

**Oh, and one thing - if you review, you get hot chocolate this time. I felt it was a bit more sensible, seeing as how it's absolutely freezing cold! (unless you're in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case - lucky you! You're warm! it's summer!)**

**:D**


	41. Chapter 41

**This is a pretty short chapter, so all I can say is sorry! Please review anyway.**

**Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! Please review again! You're wonderful! - AbiCullen, Someone aka Me, h1001babo, awaylaughingonafastcamel, notwolf, AdmiralAndalite, Arlath's Daughter, Moromu, gogguli, Boo81393, Likewow5556 and Madeline Cullen.**

**Previously: Ginny, Luna and Colin were caught trying to steal the Sword, and punished only by a trip into the Forest with Hagrid.**

* * *

As soon as she had finished breakfast, Ginny stood and stretched.

"Think I'm gonna go shower," she sighed. "Snape wouldn't let us go back to our dorms."

"What actually happened last night?" Lavender asked curiously.

"I'll tell everyone, in the Room." Neville said. "Saves us repeating it."

Ginny nodded gratefully. "Thanks." She turned to Eva. "Coming?"

Knowing that her friend would tell her everything anyway, Eva agreed to come and miss out on the meeting.

She waited on her bed whilst Ginny showered. As soon as the other girl emerged from the bathroom, red hair dripping, she asked.

"Well?"

Beginning to brush her hair, Ginny sighed. "We were planning on waiting until Snape was at the Feast, then going in under Disillusionment Charms. Once we got in, we were each of us going to check the glass in front of the sword for any protective charms, remove them and then Transfigure the glass into water. All three of us checking, to make sure." She crossed the room and started pulling on clothes.

"What happened?"

"It worked fine until that point. We got in, checked the glass. There was nothing on it, so we Transfigured it. Then we noticed the portrait."

Eva frowned. "What portrait?"

"Dumbledore's portrait. There's one of all the past Headmasters, and his was just hanging there. Most of them were empty, they must have been enjoying the feast. But Dumbledore was in his, and he was asleep."

Eva didn't say that she already knew this; she had seen the Headmaster's office once, when she first arrived at Hogwarts. Although she remembered very little about it, as she had quickly been rushed up to the Hospital Wing, she had a confused recollection of all the previous Headmasters and Headmistresses lining the walls, all shouting things at various people.

"Anyway," Ginny continued. "We saw his portrait and it distracted us for ages. We kept talking about whether we should try wake him up, ask him for help. Then we thought we heard one of the other Headmasters coming back. Neville checked the sword for any hexes, and so did Luna and I but we must have been panicking too much to do the spell right. Because when Neville grabbed hold of it, this kind of cage activated around it, trapping his hand. It was strange, as if it was made of black smoke."

"What did you do?" Eva gasped.

Ginny shrugged. "He told us to run. I don't know if I would have, but I never got the chance to decide. The door slid shut, as if it was never there. Then the floor opened up underneath the three of us. The cage around the Sword released Neville and we fell down into this little dungeon. It must have been hours before Snape came and found us." She sat on her bed, frowning. "You know the rest. I just can't believe that we all missed whatever spell it was that trapped Neville's hand."

"It was probably some sort of Dark magic," Eva pointed out. "It sounds like it, black smoke and everything. How were you supposed to defeat that?"

Ginny still looked unhappy. "I suppose. But it's annoying, not succeeding."

"At least you barely got punished," Eva commiserated.

"I know, that's weird. You would have thought that Snape would realise how not scary we would find the Forest."

"Be grateful that he didn't." She advised Ginny, the relief still running high in her veins. But it was suddenly covered by another thought. "Snape knew you got into his office, right?"

"Yeah," Ginny frowned. "So?"

"He'll start wondering how, how you could have got the password. It's only a matter of time before he thinks of Dobby, he knows my history with him. And I don't even _want _to know what he'd do."

Ginny sat up, worried. "People already treat house-elves like dirt. What would you do to one who'd disobeyed you and could spy on you again?"

"Exactly." Eva looked straight ahead. "Dobby!" she called.

With a crack, the elf materialised. "You are calling Dobby, miss?"

"Dobby, yes." She knelt down so she was face to face with him, her blue eyes looking into his great, green tennis-ball ones. "You have to leave Hogwarts, Dobby. It's not safe. What we were doing went wrong, and Professor Snape might find out what you did."

Dobby looked at her stubbornly. "Dobby will not leave you in danger, Miss."

"You have to, Dobby! I'll be fine, they haven't hurt me. I'm pureblood, after all. But they would hurt you, they don't care at all about non-humans. Go to another member of the Order, if you want to help Harry, whoever's closest so that you could still come to Hogwarts if we needed you."

The elf seemed doubtful. "You would call, miss, if you needed Dobby?"

"Yes, I would. I promise," she lied, knowing that no matter what the situation, she'd never put Dobby in danger, the first person who had ever cared about her.

"Very well then, miss." He snapped to attention. "Goodbye, Miss Eva. Goodbye, Miss Wheezy."

"Goodbye Dobby," they chorused.

"Good luck," Eva whispered as he vanished.

* * *

Ginny, Neville and Luna's trip into the Forest happened a week later. Calmed by their constant reassurances that they would be fine, Eva managed to eat this time, though she still didn't go to sleep. She couldn't help but remember that last time, when she _had _fallen asleep, it had not gone well.

They returned before midnight, however, unscathed and in good spirits. They'd spent the whole time with Hagrid, discussing Harry, remembering other trips into the Forest and reminiscing about everything that had happened between the last time Neville had been sent into the Forest with Hagrid.

Everyone continued their DA training, their mood improved by the light punishment of the 'Silver Trio', as many were now calling them - the successors to the Golden Trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione. This happiness wasn't even harmed by the fact that the next time Ginny spoke up in class, she was sent to Snape and ended up receiving a ban from Hogsmeade.

On the contrary, it was almost lightened. Snape's pathetic attempts to keep them reined in, including reintroducing Umbridge's bans on societies, seemed nothing short of feeble compared to the Carrows and the general atmosphere outside Hogwarts.

Despite their levity, they hadn't forgotten this. They trained harder than ever, perfecting all sorts of spells and had even begun a new idea, where two people would duel as everyone else watched, allowing criticism and compliments to improve technique.

Ginny was a regular combatant, as was Neville. Luna defeated many unwary opponents who had thought her to be an easy win, the only student who regularly bested her being Ginny. Colin came within inches of defeating one of the seventh years, something they all cheered at – the spectators at the duels tended to pick sides based on the smallest things.

Often it was girls versus boys, or Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor. If someone was in the same year as you, it was a good enough reason to cheer for them. To Eva's immense relief, she was never challenged. She knew her relatively weak skills couldn't compete, at least not yet.

After their duels, they would gather round the wireless that the Room had provided, having heard from 'The Quibbler' about the new programme, _Potterwatch_. They would swivel the dial, hoping that that night would be one of the lucky ones and they would be able to listen to the jokes of the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan and whatever guests they happened to have.

Not only was it an important source of information, but it reminded them that there was life outside the school, something they had come close to forgetting.

* * *

**Sorry that I haven't given you any extracts from Potterwatch, but I'm not good enough at writing to be that funny. **

**If anyone has any suggestions, guess what? **

**That's right, tell me in a review !**

**x**


	42. Chapter 42

**Well, thank you for reviewing last chapter! - AbiCullen, gogguli, Arlath's Daughter, awaylaughingonafastcamel, PrincessSophie21, Madeline Cullen, Likewow5556, notwolf, Jarka, Cymberline, h1001babo, (and especially bitchyhelly, for reviewing every single one.)**

**You all get a surprise Advent gift!**

**Previously: The DA reformed, but failed to steal the Sword. But DA meetings continued, with mock-duels happening at the end of each one**

* * *

Midway through November, something Eva had been dreading happened. At the end of one of their DA meetings, it was the turn of Zacharias Smith to choose a duelling partner.

She'd done so well to avoid being chosen before. But now Smith's eyes turned straight to her.

"_I know why, of course," _she thought snidely. "_I'm the only person he has a hope of beating." _

This wasn't quite true, Smith being a seventh year and an original DA member. But he hadn't yet beaten any of the people he'd challenged, particularly because he seemed to be working down some kind of ladder of seniority, beginning with Neville and following onto Ginny, Luna, Seamus, Ernie etcetera.

"_I suppose I should be flattered that he thinks I'm next in the pecking order." _But she didn't feel thankful. Rather, she felt sick and unsure of herself.

The duel began, both of them bowing in the traditional style. Almost lazily, Smith sent a Disarming Spell at her.

She still had problems with the Shield Charm, and Ginny had given up on it – after all, most spells she would be blocking in the battle wouldn't be deflected by a simple _Protego_.

This, of course, would have been. But there were still ways to avoid it – dodging being an important one of them. She did this, ducking easily out of the way.

This continued for several minutes, by the end of which, Eva was exhausted whilst he was fresh. "_This isn't going to work," _she snapped to herself, her pride refusing to allow her to lose. "_There must be _something_ you can do."_

There was, of course, as her disloyal subconscious reminded her. The Dark Lord prized originality in his torture, and if she would only slip back into those memories, which she had so firmly blocked off, she might get some inspiration. "_Do it!" _her mind urged. And she did. Straight away, one charm from her childhood presented itself, a charm she had used often to make herself look presentable to see Draco….

Smith's eyes narrowed. "Rictumsempra!" he cried.

"Speculus!" she returned. And his spell ricocheted off the mirror she had just conjured, striking one of the walls harmlessly. "_At least I can do some charms that will help me," _she thought. "_And that gives me an idea." _

Without uttering a word, she could do most simple Charms. So using Wingardium Leviosa to pick Smith up and spin him round in the air, at speeds which would make even the most stern-stomached person nauseous, was well within her abilities.

Once she let him down, he glared at her. "That's a charm!" He objected.

Anthony Goldstein, who was acting as referee, shook his head. "Participants can use any spell which could help them, not just the stuff we learn in Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Their duel followed this pattern for several minutes. Zacharias Smith used every jinx, hex and curse that was in his arsenal, whilst Eva threw charms at the problem. Objects leapt in front of her to block his spells, or simply appeared from thin air.

But they were at a stalemate. Trapped in memories of Death Eater duels, where 'Show no mercy' was the law and torture where pain and death was the point of it, Eva couldn't remember any non-lethal way to stop him attacking. Conjuring fire from the air stopped him advancing, but she couldn't light him on fire. Spinning him in circles disorientated him, but she couldn't hit his head against a wall. She could have Summoned one of the books behind him, and it would have ripped right through him, but that would be murder, and a particularly painful method.

It was all she could do to keep a hold on reality. Memories, released from their prison for the first time in years surrounded her rather than the friends and fellow students. Every so often, a particular memory forced its way to the front and shudders would run through her body.

To her eyes, the room was no longer the light, airy practice room that the others would recognise. And she certainly wasn't fighting for some light-hearted practise reason.

An empty shelf separated from the wall and hurtled towards them, just in time to stop Smith's Reductor.

An instant later, Eva's wand flew from her hand, and she was thrown backwards, landing heavily on the floor in a heap. Only those who had been stood at the side could see what it was. In a rare flash of genius, he had doubled a strike. Instants after sending the Reductor that had been blocked, he had cast an Expelliarmus, which Eva hadn't seen and hadn't blocked.

She lay there, sprawled on the floor. Watching through blurred vision, she saw the shape of a man looming over her, raising his wand.

"Petrificus Totalus!" his voice cried.

She rolled desperately to avoid it. "_No!_" she thought, panicked. _"You can't let him get you. It can't happen. If you're immobilised, that's the end of it. You won't even be able to struggle."_

This wasn't Hogwarts. The opponent wasn't Zacharias Smith. And the terrified girl on the floor was barely Eva, not the Eva that anyone present had seen.

_"No wand, how do I escape? There must be something, anything. Please, no," _Her blue eyes were huge and dark with fear. Her mind searched frantically, desperate to avoid the fate that her subconscious had suggested.

The moment she remembered an escape, she cast the spell. Thoughtlessly, without ever remembering where she was, she closed her eyes, hunched up her body and cried "Sanguisio!"

And as the curse made contact with its target, she slipped under a black wave.

* * *

When the black receded from her vision, the Room had returned, filled with the DA members she knew so well. But most of them were stood round the wall, staring at her with a curious expression on their faces.

Ginny was kneeling by her, shaking her shoulder. "Eva!" she called.

Eva blinked blearily up at her. "What?" she asked groggily.

"Oh, thank Merlin. What did you do?" When Eva remained silent, confused, the red-haired girl continued. "Eva, you have to tell us. We can't reverse it if we don't know what it is."

"I'm not even sure I could reverse it anyway," a male voice commented. "I don't know the counter-curses to anything like that." The boy hesitated before continuing. "Weasley, you know what kind of curse that is."

"I know!" Ginny snapped. "But she didn't mean it, alright."

"You can't do Dark magic if you don't mean it," a third voice said snidely.

Eva lay there throughout this, bewildered. "_Reverse what?" _she wondered. Then it all came rushing back.

It was as though she had been punched in the stomach. If she'd been standing, she would have doubled over. As it was, she let out a gasp of horror and her expression changed from bemused to stricken.

"_Sanguisio." _She remembered. "_I used it. I swore I never would again, but I thought, I thought….."_

The remarks about Dark Magic made sense now. She'd never told anyone. Not Hermione, not Colin, not Ginny, not even Luna. But though Draco hadn't taught her the normal defensive spells, there had been a few which she had learned, partly from watching the Death Eaters fight. _Sanguisio _was one of these. Designed to be used wandless, it would only be used in extremes, as it tired the caster out completely.

As for what it did. She tried to sit up, every muscle feeling limp and overworked. As the room spun and her eyes refocused, she recognised the emotions on the faces of the spectators. Horror, fear and disgust. Cringing away from their accusing stares, she let her eyes fall on the body of Zacharias Smith. And recoiled at the very real image of what her curse had done.

* * *

**Another short chapter! Sorry!**

**And another cliffie. Here we go again.**

**But listen, the review button is speaking ......"Help! I'm trapped at the edge of this cliffhanger! Please, click on me! Save me from the cliffie. Heeeeeeeelp."**

**:D**


	43. Chapter 43

**Thank you to those wonderful readers who reviewed! Christmas Cards to you all! That is - gogguli, carcar3, Madeline Cullen, iluvwriting, Jarka, AbiCullen, awaylaughingonafastcamel, notwolf, Someone aka Me, Moromu, Likewow5556, PrincessSophie 21, ScarletNoir, Madison, Phoenix Feather Queens, bitchyhelly, Jaddabeanx and Advaita Belgaonkar. **

**And a special mention to Arlath's Daughter, my best friend, sounding board and muse. Maybe this mention will make her forgive me about this chapter. Don't worry - she knows what I mean.**

**Previously: Eva was challenged to a duel by Zacharias Smith. Retreating into her memories for a way to defeat him, she was holding her own - until she was Disarmed, and used an unwise curse - Sanguisio**

* * *

The Sanguisio Curse did not need to be aimed. It followed the mental patterns of the caster, attacking the person who they saw as their greatest threat.

And it worked, disabling them in a horrific way. Smith was lying on the floor, not writhing as he would under the Crucio, but in pain all the same. Surrounding him was a pool of crimson blood, spreading further as it oozed from every orifice, seeping from his eyes, his nostrils, his ears, even from under his fingernails. His sweat poured red and he was gagging, retching out more blood.

That was what Sanguisio did. Every particle of blood in his body was being driven out.

No longer remotely sleepy, Eva crawled over to him. The people kneeling beside him gave her a wide berth, eyeing her with distrust and suspicion.

"What are you doing, Malfoy?" one of the Hufflepuff girls asked coldly.

Ignoring their anger, and the revulsion that swirled in her own stomach, she said, matter-of-factly, "I'm helping him. I'm the only one here who can."

The others gave her room, probably because they knew she was right. The Hogwarts education didn't exactly include how to heal Dark curses.

"How long since he got hit?" she asked, moving automatically into the practised mode she used when treating injuries.

"You mean how long since _you_ cursed him?" someone asked. She didn't bother to look up to find out who.

"Yes," she replied curtly.

"Barely a minute," Ginny replied, watching them from a short distance away.

"Good. I should have time." Retrieving her wand, she placed it on his chest.

"_You know what to do," _she told herself, trying to regain calm. "_You've done it before." _She pushed away all the negative thoughts – she couldn't heal Dark magic with them there. And slowly she began to recite an incantation, half-speaking, half-singing, all of it under her breath.

As those gathered around watched, she traced symbols over Smith's head, then his chest., before finally coming to rest over his mouth.

Her voice swelled louder, coming to a crescendo as the point of her wand took on a glow. Then a blinding white ball of light shot from it and straight down Smith's throat.

A few people cried out in alarm, thinking she had cursed him again. But instead of burning him, the glow, visible through his skin, spread down his throat and slowly out through his body, advancing with each heartbeat.

The blood, which was still seeping out from every pore, stopped. Shining with the same deep-seated glow, it began to retreat. She kept her wand fixed at his throat and her voice repeated the same words, over and over again, until at last the blood that had pooled around him was gone.

The instant it was done, the calm, collected façade fell away. She yanked her wand away and, unable to keep thoughts of what she had done at bay, stood up and backed away, fleeing out of the door which appeared instantly. To her relief, the Room had provided an exit to exactly where she required, which was the girls' bathroom.

She gazed blankly at the opposite side of the wall, noticing dispassionately that there was a new portrait there, of a mad-looking woman, with blood-soaked robes and hands, and black hair that was a tangled mess.

Then she realised it was a mirror. She stared at the reflection of herself. She looked completely deranged.

"_Like some sort of murderess," _she thought uncomfortably, knowing that was what she nearly had been.

She didn't bother to wash the blood off. It would stain her hands regardless of whether it was visible. She had used Dark Magic on a fellow student.

"_You're no better than the Death Eaters," _an internal voice taunted. "_You're not safe to be around. You should be locked up, away from good people like these."_

_"I-I didn't mean to!" _she desperately rationalised. "_I didn't know where I was."_

_"And what if you forget where you are again? What if you sleepwalk when you're having one of your nightmares, and do the same to Ginny. Or Luna, or Colin, or any of the other students."_

"I wouldn't," she cried brokenly, but it sounded feeble to her ears. "I'd never hurt them, never!"

"No, you wouldn't." A calm voice agreed.

Glancing back at the mirror, Eva saw a familiar blonde head enter. She couldn't suppress the feeling of relief, that her friends were there, but nor could she hold back worries that they might only have come to cast her out, warn her to stay away. She eyed the door in trepidation, as Ginny followed Luna.

"We know it was an accident, Eva." The redhead said firmly, although she was still very white. "None of your friends blame you."

"You mean, you two don't blame me," Eva corrected bitterly.

Luna looked surprised. "No, she said that your friends didn't blame you."

Ginny spoke again. "Neville, Colin, Seamus, Parvati, Lavender, Banulph, Alyssa – they don't blame you either. You have more friends than you think, you know."

"They should blame me," Turning away, Eva stared angrily at the wall. "I could have killed him."

"But you didn't want to. You were scared, panicking. It wasn't an attack in cold blood."

"It was Dark Magic!" she retorted. "No matter what the circumstances, I shouldn't use it."

"That's not the point. It was something you were taught in your childhood, along with the spells that _saved _him. You're not to blame for what your instincts were."

Taken aback, Eva stared at the two of them. "How did you know I learned it in my childhood?"

A third person peeked around the door – Colin. "Well, you didn't pick it up in the Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons." He pointed out. "Considering your grades, did you pick anything up in those lessons?"

She managed a weak smile, which quickly faded. "Do you want to know how I know them?" she asked softly, unable to look at them

The other three exchanged glances. They did, and they didn't. Colin, who didn't know what about Eva was and wasn't true, was the most curious. But all of them were slightly apprehensive about finding out what horrors lay in her past. They didn't want to have to think directly of the terrible things that must have happened to their friend.

But eventually Ginny said, "If you want to tell us."

Eva shook her head, and then paused. "I can give you the abridged version. But I don't want to go to deep into those memories. I kind of blocked them out, you know?"

They didn't really know, but they nodded their assent all the same.

Taking a deep breath, she began. "The Dark Lor-You Know Who," she corrected quickly, knowing that that particular slip of the tongue would be a bad idea in this instance, "would often challenge his Death Eaters to fight. The winner would get a prize, like first chance to kill a prisoner, or the opportunity for torturing the others. So I saw a lot of Dark Magic then."

She swallowed, nervous about saying the next part. "But although I saw the spells done, I didn't think I actually would ever know them. But Draco," she spat the name like it was poison, "insisted that I should. Know your enemy, and all that rubbish. Though he's got a cheek calling them the enemy, seeing as how he's one of them now."

Their eyes were full of understanding, and something she didn't want to see - pity.

"I definitely never thought I'd use any of those kind of spells though. But I did. I must have blacked out straight after using it, because when I came to, the Death Eater was on the floor. Whoever he was, he lived, so I suppose it wasn't a fatal curse. I don't know what exactly it was that I used. I used it because…well, I was frightened, like today. I was trapped, and I was alone. There was just _him_, and his leering smile."

She shuddered, her eyes far away, Not wanting to leave her in her memories, Colin spoke. "Eva!"

She jumped, and glanced up. "Thanks," she muttered, a blush staining her cheeks. "Anyway, I used it. One second he was approaching me, the next second I was waking up. It was kind of hard to pick up what happened – the only person who would tell me anything was Dobby, and only because I ordered him to."

"Apparently the Death Eater collapsed after I cursed him. But someone must have known he was coming down here, because they came to look for him pretty soon. Someone Healed him. Probably Snape," she noted bitterly. "He was one of the best at Healing."

"And that was that." She shrugged. "I expected to be punished, if not by the man I cursed, then by You-Know-Who. But He just Crucio'd the Death Eater for being as weak as to be defeated by a girl like me. I didn't want to carry on learning them, and Draco let it go. He concentrated on ways to keep me out of battles, like my Disillusionment Charm, rather than ways to fight in them. And I promised that I'd never again use anything like that. And then I broke that promise, just because I was a little bit threatened."

She waved off their protests. "Don't bother, alright."

Ginny frowned. "There's one thing I don't understand," she said hesitantly.

"There's lots I don't understand," Colin muttered. "Like why scum like that is still alive."

Nobody heard him though, so nobody was able to be surprised at the abrupt change from his usually sunny self.

"How did you cast a spell," Ginny persisted, "if you didn't have a wand?"

Eva sighed. "That was the main lure of the curses. I could use them without a wand. There are loads of theories about it, like that you are using your enemy's life force instead of your own magic. But you can do them wandless, like I did today."

"That's really useful," Ginny agreed. "I can see why your bro-…why he wanted you to learn them. I almost wish that we had something like that."

"Don't ask me to teach you them," Eva warned. "I won't do it."

"I wouldn't ask you to," Ginny reassured her. "You can stick to teaching us Healing magic, because that'll come in useful just as much."

It was a sad fact, that Ginny was right.

* * *

**A slightly longer chapter, this one. Do you still like it?**

**For the person who wanted to know the root of Sanguisio, you were very close with 'what blood'. I was trying to say 'blood from' , as in pulling the blood from someone.**

**Please review now! Even if it isn't a cliffie. **

**x**


	44. Chapter 44

**Less than a week until Christmas, everybody! A cause for celebration (unless you work in the catering industry, since then it's just a cause for far too much work)**

**Personally, I'm celebrating my reviewers - notaflowerjuicelover, Arlath's Daughter, notwolf, Someone aka Me, The Breeze, Jarka, Likewow5556, Madeline Cullen, talapadme, AbiCullen, PrincessSophie21, gogguli, awaylaughingonafastcamel, and especially SuzieGeorge, who I'm very, very happy to see again!**

**Previously: Eva used Dark Magic in a duel against Zacharias Smith, nearly killing him.**

* * *

It took a while before they could persuade Eva to return to DA meetings. She claimed that she needed the time to complete her homework, and it was only after a particularly brutal Carrow detention that they could drag her there, insisting that they needed her Healing expertise.

The few cold looks were hard to bear, particularly because they only added to her own sense of guilt, but they grew fewer and fewer, until it was only Zacharias Smith who glared at her in the corridors.

It was at times like this that she was relieved that she had opened up a bit more in the previous months, so that the other Gryffindors now supported her instead of staying away.

She didn't go back to Hogsmeade when the next trip came around, staying with Ginny instead. The redhead had been banned from Hogsmeade by Snape, a ridiculous punishment compared to those that the Carrows dealt out.

Most punishments were becoming more and more brutal, as the students began to see being put under Cruciatus as a badge of honour, a way to show that you were against Voldemort. Yet Eva still escaped the detentions, for almost the entire Autumn Term.

Unfortunately, a mere fortnight from the Christmas break, their patience wore out. The students had arrived at their Muggle Studies lesson expecting the usual pattern, which was that Alecto would spout drivel until Ginny, Colin, Eva, Luna or almost any other student interrupted her, at which point it became a matter of how long it would be until the first shout of Crucio.

Now, however, they arrived to a darkened room. Frowning in suspicion, they took their seats.

Alecto smiled, which was a warning in itself. On her face, a smile seemed more like some odd rictus of pain.

"We're looking at some wizarding history today," she began, but got no further.

"You mean you've decided that since you're stupider than most dead bodies, you might as well take over the lesson of our resident ghost Professor?"

It was a Gryffindor boy, Jimmy Peakes. Gryffindor were usually the first to start the insults, but Ravenclaw soon entered the fray.

Yet Alecto ignored him, rather than starting the lesson with a bout of Cruciatus as usual. Instead, she waved her wand at the wall.

A female voice began to speak. Eva disliked it immediately – something about the fake gasps and the patronising tone. It was so annoying that it distracted her for a moment from what was on the wall.

But when everyone else's attention became fixed on it, she looked at it too. Pictures were appearing, one after the other. Witches being burned at the stake, women bound hand and foot and thrown into rivers, jeering crowds surrounding more accused witches as they were put on trial. Even worse, they were wizarding photographs. So the flames leaped and roared as the woman struggled futilely. They could see the instant when the life left the drowning. They could nearly smell the burning of hair, and hear the crackling of burning flesh.

Now Eva realised what the voice had been saying. "They suspected us, hunted us down like animals. Your great-grandfather. Your great-grandmother. Tortured, imprisoned, murdered."

_"Oh come on_," she scoffed internally. "_Okay, I know that the witch trials were horrible, but it's no different to what the Death-Eaters are doing to us now. If this is their idea of the nice approach, they're seriously wrong."_

As she looked around though, she had to reassess her opinion. Only a few students were, like her, wearing expressions of disbelief and incredulity. Several girls had hidden their faces, looking sickened. Some, to Eva's horror, looked angry.

"_I wish they were angry at the Death Eaters for showing us this, but they're not" _she thought. "_And if the sixth-years react like this, how is this going to impact on the first-years?"_

She had to do something, prevent them from showing this to younger pupils. At last she remembered a spell which Ginny had taught her.

Muttering, because she was unable to do it non-verbally, she whispered "Reducto!" aiming her wand at the wall where the pictures were.

_"I hope that works_," she thought as the images vanished and the wall began to crumble, before turning her attention to the fuming Alecto.

"Sorry," she said breezily. "Didn't disrupt the film, did I?"

"And it was really fascinating," Luna agreed. "Were we supposed to be drawing the parallels between the actions of ignorant, prejudiced people between then and now?"

And just like that, the spell was broken. The class returned to its usual state, everyone making dismissive and disparaging comments.

Alecto's face grew redder and redder, her smile long gone. "How dare you?" she yelled over them. "Silencio!"

She cast the blanket charm on all of them. Unfortunately for her, Eva knew the non-verbal counter charm.

"Your spells aren't very good," Eva commented. "Maybe it's all that 'pure' blood inside you."

"That's it, Malfoy." Alecto hissed. "Detention, tonight."

Eva spent the rest of the day laughing it off, but in truth she was quite worried about the detention that night. She'd seen the state that the others came back in, with burns, cuts and broken bones. And she'd heard the horror stories.

That evening came around all too fast for her. It had become custom for all the members of Gryffindor who had a detention to gather in the Common Room. Eyeing them over, Eva recognised two seventh year girls and a knot of younger students, but nobody from her own year.

Together they made their way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, some of them laughing and joking whilst others, the youngest students and Eva included, looked apprehensive.

As they filed in, Eva looked for who else was in the room, and nearly collapsed. Seven Ravenclaws, ten Hufflepuffs and two Slytherins. Apparently seeing Slytherins wasn't _that _rare, as the Carrows still gave detentions for the usual things like no homework, not just being anti-Voldemort.

A few people had said it was worse, having Slytherins there. They were usually more eager to perform the Cruciatus. But others had disagreed, pointing out that it was rarely the Slytherins who were good at the Unforgivables who ended up in these detentions.

Either way, that wasn't what had shocked her so severely. One of the Slytherins was a fifth year girl, and one was a seventh year boy. To be more exact, it was a blond, pale seventh year boy.

Eva stared at the back of her brother's head and felt ill.

* * *

**There you go! An early Christmas present to all the people who were missing Draco or, as one reviewer called him 'You-Know-Who-but-not-*That*-You-Know-Who'**

**Happy now? If you are, then review! (and that's happy about anything, not just this chapter - Christmas, New Year, winter, summer - whatever!)**

**After all, the song goes -  
If you're happy and you know it - write a review  
If you're happy and you know it - write a review  
If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it  
If you're happy and you know it - write a review**

**:D**


	45. Chapter 45

**So, I think people liked seeing Draco again. Yay! Hope this chapter with lots of him in it makes you review.**

**Thanks to those who reviewed last time - gogguli, Moromu, Likewow5556, Phoenix Feather Queens, Madeline Cullen, iluvwriting, AbiCullen, Jarka, Someone aka Me, notwolf, talapadme, ScarletNoir, carcar3, attyfan, h1001babo, bitchyhelly, awaylaughingonafastcamel, Boo81393 and Arlath's Daughter.**

**Christmas presents to my reviewers (unwrap them and see what they are!) and Merry Christmas to you all! (if you celebrate Christmas), even those people who I know will be reading this after Christmas. Hope you had a good Christmas. **

**Previously: Eva arrived in her detention to see her brother there, serving his time too.**

**

* * *

**

She'd seen Draco around school a few times, though she'd gone out of her way to avoid it. She'd tried to avoid listening to any gossip about him too.

But every time that she saw him, or heard his name, it brought back memories, not only of that night in the Astronomy Tower, or seeing the Mark on his arm, but older memories. Happier ones, of learning spells and talking about magical creatures, or magical history.

_"What is he doing here?" _she wondered to herself. "_Surely he's top of his class at all this stuff. Teacher's pet and all that."_

Amycus was stood at the front of the room, a vicious smile on his face. "So," she said, "You've all shown yourselves to be pretty bad at doing the Crucio."

_"That is definitely not right,"_ Eva thought. "_No way _he_ passes up an opportunity for torture."_

Amycus was still speaking. "So tonight you're gonna get some more practise. With incentives."

"Ooh, incentives," one of the Ravenclaws sneered. "I didn't know people with your severity of mental deficiency could comprehend polysyllabic words."

Amycus didn't look offended, although he perhaps hadn't understood the insult. Still, he could tell it wasn't a compliment. "Glad we have a volunteer to go first. Anyone else?" He paused for a fraction of a second. "No? Alright, Patil. You can do it."

Parvati stood up, as did the Ravenclaw boy who had spoken. The two of them strolled to the front of the classroom, clearly having done this before.

Amycus glared at the Ravenclaw. "You first. Crucio her or get punished."

The boy arched an eyebrow. "No."

Unfazed, Amycus turned to Parvati. "Your turn."

Parvati tossed her long plait behind her shoulders. "You know, you're right. I've been to several of these detentions and consistently refused to torture my fellow students, but now I've seen the error of my ways and I'm going to start."

To say Amycus looked gleeful would be an understatement; Eva, on the other hand, rolled her eyes, thinking "_Okay, my sarcasm has definitely rubbed off on her."_

Parvati continued. "Wait, no. That's not what I'm going to do."

"You're refusing?" Amycus asked, sounding sullen again.

"Congratulations, you worked it out." The Ravenclaw sniped. The whole scene had the air of something rehearsed many times.

Shrugging, Amycus turned his wand on the Ravenclaw. He grabbed hold of his arm and yelled "Inflammare!"

The smell of roasting meat filled the classroom. Eva did her best not to wince, noticing that the Ravenclaw was doing the same. At last Amycus removed the flame from the end of his wand.

The boy's arm was now blackened and roasted beyond recognition. The tension at the sides of his mouth showed Eva just how hard he was trying not to show the pain.

Parvati continued to stand there, arms crossed, looking completely defiant. Until Amycus snapped both of her arm bones in rapid succession.

Mouth open, she stared at them in shock. The sheer speed of the punishment had surprised her, and it was possible to see the exact moment that the pain overcame the shock.

The sight of her arms hanging at her sides, bones protruding halfway up was as gruesome as the sight of the boy's blistered arms.

"Back to your seats," Amycus growled.

Parvati was sat across the row from Eva, so as soon as Amycus was distracted by another two victims, this time a younger Gryffindor and a sixth-year Hufflepuff, she leant over.

Moving her wand expertly, she cast a Pain-Damp Charm. The relief on Parvati's face was easy to see. Over in the Ravenclaws corner, one of them was clearly doing the same.

Most of the seventh years in the school had now learned some Healing spells, but Eva was still one of the most proficient. She spared few thoughts for the Ravenclaw, knowing that he would collect some Burn Balm from the Room of Requirement. "_It's lucky that the Carrows haven't worked out exactly what the Room does," _she thought.

Mending bones was much more complex, however, and needed all of her attention. Seeing as how it was her bones, Parvati was as focused on her arm as Eva was, and neither saw or heard the end of the second pair of victims.

As a result, neither saw or heard Amycus' attention fall on her.

"Malfoy," he said. Eva jumped.

"If you want to talk so much, why don't you come up here with Malfoy."

Eva breathed a sigh of relief – he hadn't noticed that she was Healing, before it was replaced by terror. _"With who!"_ she shrieked silently.

Slowly she stood up and joined her brother at the front of the classroom.

"Go on, girl," she dimly heard Amycus saying.

She wouldn't look straight at Malfoy, not wanting to meet his eyes, but stared at the floor.

"_You can't do the Cruciatus, Eva. It's evil!"_

"_But it's Draco. He's evil, and using the Cruciatus on evil people isn't evil, it's justice. You know that he'd use it on you."_

_"Would he? Really? You can't be sure that he would."_

_"I can."_

_"Even so, it makes you as bad as them."_

_"But if I don't I'll get hurt. I don't want to get hurt," _Eva confessed. "_I don't think I could keep from crying out, and I don't know if I can Heal any really severe injury on myself. It'd be so hard to keep the concentration. We always used to Heal each other."_

_"Exactly! You used to Heal each other. He's your brother, Eva."_

But Draco's left arm hung directly in her line of sight. Just seeing that made her remember the foul, disfiguring Mark that he had chosen to take.

"_He stopped being my brother when he took that Mark. I just didn't know it yet."_

Filled with resolve, she raised her wand. "Crucio!" she cried.

It didn't last long, but it was severe enough to knock him to the floor. Seeing him sprawled there suddenly made it come crashing down on her.

"_You used an Unforgivable. You used Dark Magic. How can you call yourself better than any of the Death Eaters?"_

Nausea welled up in her throat. The wand clattered to the floor from her numb hands. Bringing both hands up to her face, she fled.

She didn't know where she was going, but some instinct must have led her up the stairs, because she was soon pacing in front of the Room of Requirement.

Thanking Merlin that it had been empty for a change – no meeting had been scheduled that night - she darted in.

The Room was the same as it had been last time she had had to hide there. Filled with towers of objects, everything imaginable. She remembered why she had fled for this sanctuary last time.

"_Draco had brushed me off for the first time, and I didn't know why."_

Bitterness filled her. "Now I know why," she muttered, eyeing the Cabinet that had been the cause of so much trouble. "Why couldn't I have noticed what you were!" she yelled, suddenly angry. "Then none of this would have happened. Dumbledore wouldn't have died, and he'd still be Headmaster and we'd be safe."

She kicked the Vanishing Cabinet angrily, wishing she had her wand so that she could blow it to pieces.

She stared at it for a long time. She didn't know exactly how long, but the next thing she knew was a voice calling her name. She turned.

Luna, Ginny and Colin had all come. Ginny was holding Eva' wand, and the redhead offered it to her.

"I don't deserve it," Eva said bitterly, turning away. "I used the Cruciatus on him."

She knew she didn't need to explain the story, and that someone would have already told them. But she also knew that whoever it had been would have tried to put her in the best possible light. Gryffindors could be as loyal as Hufflepuffs when it came to their own.

She tried to explain further. "No provocation. Nobody else did it. And I didn't even fully do it because he's evil."

"Do you think we don't understand?" Ginny finally asked. "We've all had detentions. We've all felt that urge just to use the spell, and save the pain."

"But none of you ever have," Eva pointed out.

Colin spoke up. "No, but that's because it's our friends under the wand. You wouldn't use the Cruciatus on any of us, would you?"

"I attacked Zacharias Smith."

"That was a duel," Luna said patiently. "And you didn't know where you were."

"Don't make excuses for me," she snapped. "You always do. You had to do the exact same thing a few weeks ago. Doesn't the fact that you're _always_ telling me that I'm not evil mean anything?"

"That it's hard to get anything fixed in your head?" Colin offered. An unwilling snort of laughter escaped Eva. "Seriously, it was Malfoy you used it on. People are going to see you as a hero."

"And he wouldn't have hesitated to use it on you," Ginny pointed out. "You know that."

"I guess," Eva sighed. "But I swear, I'm never using those again. No Unforgivables, no Dark magic."

"The important thing to remember is that even if you did, we'd still be your friends." Colin said, and Ginny and Luna nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Like I said, Merry Christmas!**

**And you know, the best Christmas present I can get is a review. **

**:D**

**It's nearly Christmas! Yay! **


	46. Chapter 46

**Thank you very much for reviewing - Moromu, talapadme, gogguli, Phoenix Feather Queens, Jarka, carcar3, cyiusblack, h1001babo, awaylaughingonafastcamel, Someone aka Me, notwolf, Arlath's Daughter, Likewow5556, Madeline Cullen, pstibbons and padsy.**

**Sorry this chapter took so long - I've been away for Christmas, without even a computer. Hope you like it and hope you all have a wonderful 2009!**

**Previously: The Hogwarts students endured a terrible term at Hogwarts, with the last few weeks being especially hard for Eva. but now they are on their way to celebrate their Christmas holidays.**

* * *

"I can't believe it's Christmas," Ginny sighed. They were sitting in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express, steaming at full speed towards Platform 9 and ¾ . Despite the horrific term they had endured, you would have found it hard to tell that they weren't ordinary teenagers. Unless you listened to their conversation, or noticed the frogs made of chocolate that were hopping around.

"I know what you mean," Colin agreed. "We've got to spend the next few weeks at home, not practicing Defence or spreading rebellion. At least you'll be able to keep up on the news. I can't even find out about anything until we come back."

"I'll tell you through your coin about anything that happens," Ginny promised. One of the Ravenclaws had modified them so that they could all send messages to the others.

Eva smiled happily, curled in a corner of the compartment. "I can't believe I'm about to have a proper Christmas," she said happily. "A Christmas where I'm actually spending my time talking to people I love."

Luna smiled at her. "There'll be no mistletoe," she warned. "It took too long to get rid of the Nargles last time."

"I think I'll survive," Eva replied, grinning. "As long as we can give each other presents." She eyed Ginny and Colin mock-severely. "And remember that you can't open yours until Christmas Day,"

They nodded, rolling their eyes. "It's not fair," Ginny sighed. "you all got the chance to shop for them in Hogsmeade. I had to make do with owl order stuff."

"I'm sure we'll love them," Luna said placatingly.

Eva frowned. "Are there toilets on this train?" she asked Ginny.

"Yes," said Ginny slowly. "How have you managed not to notice them?"

"Hey, I've only been on this train four times," Eva said defensively. "And last Christmas, I was too frightened about going home. Coming back, I was far too busy talking to Luna. And at the end of the summer....well, none of us were exactly fully normal then."

"Fair enough," Ginny smiled. "They're at the end of the corridor."

Eva got up and left, whilst the other three continued to sit and talk in their compartment. Suddenly the train came to a jerking halt.

"What was that?" Ginny gasped.

Colin frowned and got up, walking to the window. "We're not at King's Cross," he said, bewildered. "We're just in the middle of nowhere."

About to turn back to his seat, he froze. Ginny, in the middle of leaning forward to ask a question, froze too.

You wouldn't realise that Luna had been caught by the paralysis spell at first glance. Her face was set in its usual serene expression. But then you would see that her silvery eyes were wide and uncharacteristically quick, darting about to gaze at the entrance to the compartment.

Because two figures stood there. Cloaked and masked, they could have been anyone, though everyone present knew one important fact about them – they were Death Eaters.

"Get the girl. The blonde one," the shortest one snarled, and his companion obliged, sending ropes from his wand to bind Luna before Stunning her. He then levitated her into the air, and both turned to go, their mission accomplished.

But they weren't out yet, because Eva was just emerging from the bathroom across the corridor. Her eyes took it all in at once, and then she was ducking to avoid the hex that one of the Death Eaters hurled at her.

She darted through the compartment floor and knelt beside Luna, who had been dropped unceremoniously when the Death Eaters had turned to attack her.

"Cowards," she sneered, in a tone reminiscent of Draco's. "Freezing a room of sixteen year olds just to capture a girl. You don't even dare fight us."

She held Luna's limp hand. "Well you're not taking her," she growled. "You'll have to take me first." And with those words, she magically sealed Luna's hand to her own."

But this act, brave though it was, was Gryffindor foolishness at its highest point. The Death Eaters stepped aside. And another cloaked figure swept in, this one hooded and threatening. A Dementor.

"Exp-pect-to P-patronum," Eva stuttered, her hand gripping her wand so tightly that she thought it would bruise. But she couldn't summon any happy memories. Already her past was calling to her.

"**_Aw, don't be scared' A drawling voice said. He grinned wolfishly. "On the other hand, do. That's how I like'em."…._**

_"No!" _Eva's mind reasserted it self. "_Happy! Your first spell?"_

But her first spell reminded her of the boy whose hand had been holding hers as she had done it, the boy who had applauded her success. "_Draco," _she thought dizzily, and her mind conjured up memories of him.

Him turning away, him shutting her out, him fleeing the school after trying to murder Dumbledore. The Dark Mark on his arm, him writhing on the floor as she tortured him…

She did not have thoughts to spare for Ginny and Colin, who, unable to even attempt a Patronus, must be suffering worse than her.

"_The DA_," her mind pleaded, already fading under the Dementor's onslaught. "Expecto Patronum," she tried again, but her mind was full of another incantation – Sanguisio, and Zacharias Smith dying on the floor, an island in a sea of blood.

And with this final memory, she sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Ow," Eva groaned, lifting a hand to her forehead. But her hand didn't travel alone. "What the…" she frowned, struggling to sit up. "Why am I on the floor?"

"There isn't a bed in here, I'm afraid." Luna's voice calmly answered her.

"And….oh." Eva realised, her most recent memory flooding back. "Right." She tried again to sit up, but it made her head spin painfully.

"You might find that easier if you could use your hand fully," Luna offered.

Eva repeated her slowly. "My hand?" She glanced down at her hand, then remembered that it was still magically sealed to Luna's. "Oh. Sorry." She separated them.

"That's okay," the blonde girl smiled. "It was very Gryffindor of you."

"Very stupid, you mean."

Luna's eyes were shining in the dark. Part of it must have been fear, although Eva had never been able to detect that in Luna's gaze. But part of it was happiness, while another part was sadness.

"Why are you happy? And sad, though that one's kind of obvious."

"I'm sad because you were captured because of me. But I'm happy because you're my friend, and did that for me."

"I'd do it again," Eva promised. "In a heartbeat. You're my friend." She gave a dry snort. "I'd say you were my sister, but that's more of an insult than a compliment."

Luna looked even happier, although her eyes flicked momentarily to a spot behind Eva.

"What is it?" The Gryffindor asked. "Is there something there?" She twisted around to see, but froze as soon as she got a glimpse. "Draco," she hissed. "You don't add anything to the décor, so say what you have to say and get out. Get the gloating over with already."

* * *

**So, hope you had lovely Christmases, and are looking forward to a great 2009.**

**You know, the best way to start off the year is by doing a good deed - and reviewing! It makes a certain fanfiction writer very happy!**

**:D**

**(that writer being me, not my identical evil twin)**


	47. Chapter 47

**Well, thank you for reviewing - E.S. Everest, gogguli, jarka, notwolf, Someone aka Me, Boo81393, Likewow5556, iluvwriting, h1001babo, awaylaughingonafastcamel, AbiCullen, cyiusblack and talapadme.**

**Anyone else who is reading this - please review! If there's something you don't like, let me know. And if you do like my story, again, let me know!**

**Updates might be a bit more irregular for a while - we have exams at college, so I _should_ be revising. Should.**

**Previously: Luna, and Eva along with her, was captured by Death Eaters, then - "Draco," Eva hissed. "You don't add anything to the décor, so say what you have to say and get out. Get the gloating over with already."**

* * *

The blond young man took a step forward. "I'm not here to gloat," he said, sounding panicked. "I'm here to try get you out."

For a moment, Eva's heart leapt. "_He's realised what's right, he'll join our side."_

Draco continued. "They didn't want you anyway. They only took you because they couldn't separate your hands. If you leave, they won't care that much. You might not be able to go back to Hogwarts, but you could stay wild until this is over. Go to France or something."

Eva's face was a complete blank. "You'll get me out," she repeated.

"Yes," Draco repeated hurriedly. "Just be quick!"

"You'll rescue me, so that I can escape from this war and leave the country."

"I know you're in shock, but I'm sure you were smarter than this when I taught you."

"Or," Eva continued, as if Draco hadn't even spoken, "You'll rescue me, so that I can abandon the war and my friends and flee the country. Leave everyone to their fates and go."

Catching her tone, Draco stepped back. But he couldn't help but try again. Eva was his sister, after all. "There's nothing you can do to help them," he persuaded her. "They'd want you to live."

"What would be the point of being alive, if nobody who I cared about was? What would be the point of living if I didn't have a life? What would be the point of breathing, if I couldn't face myself in the mirror each morning?" She glared at Draco. "You might be able to do that. But while your traitorous blood might flow in my veins, I'm not the same as you. If you wanted to help me, you should have done it already."

"I couldn't even go and see you! Let alone help you. I was being watched."

"Oh, and I'm sure the Carrows keep a real close watch. Hard to escape from people of such unrivalled intellect."

He seemed about to speak, but she forestalled him, raising a hand. "Say I've been corrupted by the Gryffindors if you like. Say I've betrayed my heritage. Personally, I think I was saved by them. And you were corrupted, and you betrayed the whole wizarding world. And I'm not going anywhere. I'll live with my friends, and I'll fight with my friends, and I'll die with my friends. And I'll do it knowing that if I didn't, it would be worse than death."

His mouth open, he stared at her. She pressed on. "And don't say that nothing is worse than death. You and I know better than that. We've seen worse. We've seen people as they begged to die. Dying happy with yourself is better than living like you do."

His face pale, he spun around. Eva hadn't noticed that she'd taken steps forward, pressing him against the wall. Scrabbling for the door handle, he fled the room.

Eva sighed and put her head in her hands. Leaning against the wall, she sank down until she could collapse on the floor. "And that was stupid too," she muttered. "Foolhardy, idiotic, emotional. Everything that they accuse Gryffindors of being."

She looked up and fixed Luna with her gaze. The Ravenclaw did not seem to be disapproving. She didn't betray any emotions of surprise on her face either, although Eva could tell that she was. "And they're right. And I don't care," she repeated. "_But am I convincing myself now?" _she wondered.

"You _are_ an interesting phenomenon," a dry voice spoke from behind Luna.

Peering into the blackness, Eva blinked. Until the moment he had spoken, she hadn't noticed another inhabitant of the dungeon. "Do I know you?" she asked hesitantly.

"Ollivander," he introduced himself. "The wand-maker."

"Nice to meet you," Eva muttered darkly. "Lovely place, isn't it?" She remembered his words. "What do you mean, an interesting phenomenon?"

"A Malfoy, raised under most unusual circumstances. Raised amongst death and torture, and exposed to Dark Lord propaganda before you could cast a simple spell. Witness to the most abominable things." His voice, rather than sounding horrified by this, had an unnerving fascination in its tones. "Yet you are a Gryffindor. A fighter against the Dark side."

Eva snorted. "I was hardly going to believe the same as them, was I? You're supposed to woo people to your way of thinking by softly spoken words and compliments. Not shouted curses, imprisonment and torture."

"And so emotional, as you said. You should have blocked off your emotions, feared to feel them. Kept everyone at arms' length."

"I did that, once." Eva admitted. "I didn't know any better. But I guess my emotions broke through. I'm just not that person on the inside, however much Draco tried to make me like that. Of course," she smiled at Luna. "I had some great friends who helped with that."

But Luna wasn't paying much attention, her silvery eyes distant. "That's odd," she said softly.

"_You, _finding something odd?" Eva teased. "Is this the end of the world?"

Luna persisted. "You two have never met before," she said. "But Eva, you have a wand."

"Well, yeah." Eva said, confused. "Draco found one for me, it was just lying around. I don't know whose it was." She shuddered slightly. "I didn't really want to ask, seeing as how I think it was one of the Death Eater's heirlooms."

To Eva's surprise, Ollivander seemed as struck by this statement as Luna. "You just picked up a random wand?" he asked, his voice filled with astonishment."

"Yes," Eva replied. "So? Wizards usually hand down wands, don't they?"

"Not often, Miss Malfoy. Between family members, it can be done. But one person's wand will not work properly for another wizard who shares no blood with them."

"My wand worked for me," Eva protested.

"After a lot of practise," Luna pointed out. "You had the strength to do that wandless curse, at the end of a long battle. But you took lots of our lessons to be able to get Protego."

"And you think that's why?" Eva asked sceptically. "My wand didn't like me?"

"You say that as if it is ridiculous. But wands have feelings too, Miss Malfoy. It is the wand that chooses the wizard, not the other way around."

Eva sighed. "Great. But since I'll probably never get out of here, this discussion is a bit pointless. I'll never have need for a wand again."

"You think you will never leave?" Ollivander asked.

"It's unlikely. I grew up in a cell like this. It's only right that I die in a cell like this. And what do you think the chances of escape are? This dungeon is in Malfoy Manor. Home to the Dark Lord and most of his evil minions. We'll never escape, and nobody will rescue us until He falls. And no doubt they'll kill us before he does, since we would be living witnesses to their crimes."

Silenced by Eva's morbid outlook, the other two looked away.

* * *

**So, how do you think they will pass the time as they are imprisoned? How will they escpae? How will this change the plot?**

**I'm asking questions so that people who don't know what to say when they review have something to answer, since that's always my problem - I always feel like I'm saying the same things, over and over again when I review.**

**But as an author, I don't care! Taking the time to write a review matters to me! **

**Was that a subtle enough hint?**

**x**


	48. Chapter 48

**I hope you're all well! And happy etc. Good luck to anyone who might have exams soon. **

**Cupcakes for everyone who reviewed! (according to a paper I read this weekend, they're the new incarnation of the fairy cake. Mind you, they also said that a butterfly bun looked nothing like a butterfly. Which is a lie! And I just realised that any non-English readers (and possibly most English readers) have no idea what I'm talking about. Sorry. That happens to me often.)**

**Anyway, thanks to - Noble Korhedron, iluvwriting, Moromu, AbiCullen, Likewow5556, notwolf, Jarka, awaylaughingonafastcamel, Boo81393, gogguli, h1001babo, Someone aka Me and Arlath's Daughter! **

**Previously: Eva and Luna were captured, and are being held with Ollivander in the dungeon of Malfoy Manor.**

* * *

Unable to notice the passing of the days, all Eva knew was that it was some time later when Luna mentioned Christmas. The days between their capture and this event had been punctuated by deposits of food, and water and the odd conversation. Someone had come in and tied them with ropes once – which they had promptly cut on the jagged edge of a jug.

Eva looked up as Luna spoke. "Christmas?" she repeated blearily, her mind tired although her body was not. "I don't know. I can't keep track."

"We should celebrate it now," Luna said, her eyes wide and convincing.

"How?" Eva asked. "We don't have anything down here."

"You think you're going to die down here." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Eva said, failing to see where this question was going.

"Don't you want to remember your last Christmas? As something good."

Eva smiled slightly, something that was lost in the gloom of their prison. "Alright. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, we don't need the decorations or the food, not really," Luna mused. "Think, what do you normally do on Christmas Day?"

"Last Christmas, I sat in my room whilst my family sulked. The Christmas before that…." Eva sighed. "Sat in my prison while my family celebrated. They're quite similar really."

"But what were you doing when you were sat in your room," Luna pressed.

"Sending letters to you, thanking you for your present."

"Exactly," Luna smiled, happy. "So?"

"I haven't got your present with me- but I could describe it to you," Eva realised. "Sorry, the whole environment down here is making me slow to catch on."

"No problem," Luna replied airily.

"Well, it's small. And hard on the outside, but kind of soft on the inside."

"A pillow?"

Eva laughed. "No, that's soft on the outside too!"

"Not if it's coated with Anti-Mollibus Flies."

"It's to do with those," Eva continued, grinning now. "Anti-Mollibus Flies, and Nargles, and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks."

"My dad has the horn of a Snorkack, you know. He's going to show it to me, next time I go home."

"Is it Crumpled?" Eva teased.

"Very."

"So, the present. Well, it's white on the inside. And a kind of shimmery blue-silver on the outside."

"A fish?"

"Yes, Luna, I bought you a fish. That's your Christmas present."

Luna smiled, knowing Eva well enough to know that her sarcasm was not an insult. "What else?"

"Well, you can write on the white stuff."

"A notebook."

"Finally! Yes, a notebook so that you can record all of your creatures. And a Thestral feather quill. That way you really will look like you're writing with nothing. So, here you go." Eva pretended to hand Luna something.

"Thank you," Luna said regally. "I'll treasure it."

"What about mine?" Eva asked, getting into the game now.

Luna remained silent for a moment. Then spoke. "It's soft," she began. "And hard. And it's sharp, and cold and oily. It's bendy but stiff and it's thin and squashy."

"A book of textures?"

Luna laughed, the silvery sound echoing off the walls. "Not exactly. You could relate my present to Charms, and to Potions."

Eva stared at her, wondering what it could be. "Charms, and Potions. Two of my best subjects...but it's sharp? Cold and oily, that's easy. That's some kind of potion. The best potions don't store though, so it could be Potions ingredients. But Charms?" She thought it through aloud.

"You can use it immediately, before this war is even over. And in the direct aftermath."

"Some kind of Healing Potion, and the ingredients?"

"And the Charms?" Luna enquired gently.

"I don't know! I'm not a Ravenclaw, I'm no good at these games. I'd have been doomed to sleep in the corridors if I was in your dormitory. I'd never have got your password."

"The Charms are in a book," Luna relented. "It's a joint present from Colin and I. it's a Healer's Kit, with bandages and burn balm and splints, plus lots of ingredients, bowls and instructions to make lots of different Healing Potions and how to do most Healing Charms."

Eva looked at her friend wonderingly. "Oh, that's perfect. It's just…I can't even say the words." She shuffled over to where Luna was sat and hugged her. "Thank you."

"It's okay," Luna replied. "It was Colin's idea, mostly."

"I'd tell you to thank him for me too, but I don't know if you'll ever see him. So my present will have to do that for me."

She answered Luna's enquiring glance.

"It's a photo album, without any photos in. Red and gold, of course. He always seems to have that camera in his hands, and I didn't want him to lose any of the photos. But, being male, he wouldn't actually organise them or anything." She frowned. "I hope he likes it, and Ginny likes hers. Was she part of this present too?"

Luna shook her head. "She got you something else. It was sort of similar to what I gave you last year."

Eva squinted, trying to remember. "Something rocky?" She asked dubiously.

"No."

Eva considered saying 'something that isn't quite serious', but wasn't sure if Luna would be offended. Her present last year had been a 'Pebble Pet'. Basically a Pebble, with eyes charmed into it. It was actually quite cute, in a pebbley sort of way.

"It's furry, and from her brothers' shop."

"Well, there are a lot of furry things in that shop. But I'm going to have to go with a Pygmy Puff?"

"Well done. It's been delivered to my house, so I'm sure my dad will look after it for you. I know its principle diet is insects and earwax, but I'm sure that it will keep some worse infestations out of our house."

"I'm sure it will." Eva smiled. "What colour?"

"Bright purple, apparently."

"Wow, my favourite colour! And it's Ravenclaw blue and Gryffindor red mixed together."

"Nothing better," Luna agreed.

A laugh echoed from the other side of the dungeon. Both girls turned to see Ollivander smiling at them. It was a rather eerie sight. "You are very unusual young ladies." He commented. "It's far more entertaining than being stuck in this cell on my own."

"Thank you," Eva grinned, taking a mock-bow. "Performances will be here, every morning from seven."

"Seven?" Luna sighed. "I don't like waking up early. I thought that was the good side of being captured."

"You're right. Let's make it from ten o'clock. Then we can have our nice long lie-in." She grinned. "Silver lining to every cloud, isn't there?"

* * *

**Right now, I'm tempted to swap places with them just for that lie-in. Anyone else in the Northern Hemisphere ought to know what I mean right now - Southern Hemisphere, you just wait. You get your turn soon. **

**(By the way, what I mean is how depressing it is to wake up in the dark.)**

**Sigh.**


	49. Chapter 49

**Meow!**

**My cat thinks she doesn't have enough of a mention in these notes, since she never gets to say how much she helps. (Personally, I don't think she helps, I think she sits between me and my keyboard so I can't write.)**

**But she still wants to thank you for reviewing, so thanks from both of us - iluvwriting, Moromu, PrincessSophie21, Likewow5556, Meikajo, Someone aka Me, Jarka, notwolf, Boo81393, h1001babo, talapadme, Arlath's Daughter and AbiCullen.**

**Previously: Eva and Luna were captured, and are being held in Malfoy Manor dungeons.**

* * *

They knew when the others went back to school, because both of their pockets burned. A gasp issued from Eva.

"Ow," she muttered. "I can't get it out and it's hot!"

Luna had had rather more success, and was trying to examine her coin. To her surprise, something she had never before noticed happened. It began to glow.

"Is that the heat?" she wondered. "Or is it because it's so dark in here that a light charm is activated?"

"Never mind that!" Eva gasped, having finally extracted her own coin from her robes. "What does it say?"

"Where are you?" Luna asked.

"Sat in the dungeon, across from you," Eva replied. "Or possibly on a sunny beach, or a lake in the middle of a forest. I can't tell." She added sarcastically.

"That sounds nice," Luna commented.

Eva rolled her eyes, knowing that Luna was now doing it on purpose. "Luna, what does the coin actually say?" Then it hit her. "It's asking where we are?"

"Yes."

"Send back, 'Malfoy Manor Cell'." She frowned. "I don't want to worry them too much though. I'll send them 'Uninjured' at the same time."

This done, they both sat back.

"I guess that means school has started again," Eva sighed. "And we're not there, with the rest of the DA."

"I feel sorry for the Carrows. They won't have the chance to be interrupted nearly as much without you there."

Eva stared at Luna, then began to laugh. "I've taught you bad habits," she grinned. "Like sarcasm."

She quickly grew serious again.

"There are things I'll miss though. Things that I wish I could have done."

Luna's gaze made confessions that much easier.

"Flying, for one. I never flew, not on a broomstick or a Thestral or even a Hippogriff. A school dance, although I sort of had that experience at the wedding. And things I wish I could have said." She sighed again.

"Who to?"

"You, Ginny, Neville. You don't know how much it's meant to me to have you there for me. It's made all the difference." She blushed, although Luna couldn't see it in the gloom. "And Colin. I wish…I wish I'd told him. I know he doesn't feel the same, how could he? He knows way too many embarrassing things about me."

"You liked him?" Luna asked, no surprise or accusation in her tone.

Relieved by this, Eva continued. "I think so. I don't know. I analysed it so much in my head that I lost track of whether I liked him, or I liked the idea that I liked him, if that makes sense. I liked spending time with him, he could make me laugh. I hated looking stupid, or being at my worst moments in front of him. Whenever I was around him, I had this urge to be the most vivacious, intelligent, funny person in the room." She laughed mockingly. "Not that that ever happened."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't insult yourself. The Death Eaters will do that for you."

"More than often enough," Eva agreed, and the subject was dropped for a while. But they returned to it more than once in the following weeks, and Eva questioned Luna in turn.

"I don't think I like anyone, not like that." Luna answered honestly. "Ron made me laugh, but he's obviously meant for Hermione."

Eva snorted. "Of course, and they're the only ones who don't know."

"And I like Neville and Colin, but I don't think they're like me enough. I couldn't like anyone who ever gave me that look."

Eva knew exactly the look that Luna meant. It was a look that most people believed her oblivious to, though in reality the blonde had only cultivated the art of _appearing _to be oblivious, to the strange looks, the raised eyebrows and the whispers when she said anything unusual.

"I can never tell when you're noticing that look or not," Eva mused.

"Sometimes I am. Often I don't. I could be looking at something else instead."

Their conversations continued, and Eva once, when she was feeling particularly despairing, pointed something out.

"Twenty years old, and never been kissed."

Luna frowned at her. "You're sixteen," she remarked gently.

"Twenty if you take into account what year I was born in."

"What month?" Luna asked curiously. "I've known you for more than a year. But you've never had a birthday."

Eva shrugged. "I don't exactly know when it is," she admitted. "The Malfoys were hardly big on celebrating it. It's only because of overhearing Dobby that I know I was born two years before Draco."

"You're an Aries," Luna stated.

Looking at her, Eva raised her eyebrows inquiringly. "When's that, then? And why?"

"March 21st to April 19th." Luna filled her in. "Those born under this sign are stubborn, temperamental, sarcastic. They're straightforward and very courageous. The element is fire."

Eva laughed. "Fire? That definitely suits me. I'll have to take your word as to the courageous, since personally I'd be thinking more foolhardy than brave. Which day?"

"There's a rhyme to work that out," she answered, and recited in a sing-song tone:

_"Monday's child has skill in Potions;  
Tuesday's child goes through the motions;  
Wednesday's child is a wizard's woe;  
Thursday's child is Dark magic's foe;  
Friday's child learns Charms quickly;  
Saturday's child heals those who are sickly.  
But the child that is born on the seventh day  
Is strong and brave for ever and a day"_

"So, which day am I?" Eva repeated. Luna gazed at her, considering. "Most of them, really. You're good at Potions and Charms, you like to heal people. You're strong, and you're brave. You fight against Dark magic. Probably not Wednesday-"

"What does that even mean," Eva interrupted. "'A wizard's woe?'"

"It means you're a flirt, apparently." Luna glanced at her. "My mother taught me the rhyme, and that's what she said."

"Right, so not Wednesday," Eva agreed. "Out of the rest…..can I pick one?"

"Of course."

"Saturday, then. I'd like to 'heal those who are sickly'." She decided. She raised her eyebrows at Luna. "Which day were you born?"

"Tuesday," Luna admitted.

"Going through the motions….well, if that means that you're not all there, I guess that's true." Eva frowned suddenly. "But we haven't celebrated your birthday, either. And I've known you for a year."

"I didn't have a birthday last year," Luna said matter-of-factly.

"Why not? You don't exactly have the same excuse as me," Eva remarked dryly.

"No, but my birthday wasn't on the calendar last year. It only comes every four years."

"February 29th?" Eva asked. "That's unlucky!"

"No, I think it's lucky."

"Not the date, just the fact that you only get parties once every four years."

Luna shrugged. "I didn't much get into celebrating my birthday, not once my mother died. I didn't have any friends at school to celebrate it with."

Eva sighed. "You do now, but I'm afraid my range of presents in here is kind of limited." She looked around. "I can give you a fantastic selection of mould, dust, stones, more mould….I'm sure you've had better birthday presents."

In the darkness, Luna smiled at her. "You've given me my birthday present by being my friend, Eva. That's all you needed to do."

* * *

**I know that if you use the official timeline, the year when Luna was born wasn't a Leap Year. But tough. That's when I wanted her birthday!**

**Hope you liked the rhyme. Pick which day you would be (personally, it doesn't fit me very well - Dark magic's foe? I'm more likely to be huddled beneath the bed.)**

**Review! Tell me if you like your day! Tell me if you liked Eva's star sign, or Luna's birthday.**

**In other words, speak to me! I'm all alone at my computer *sob* **

**(well, my cat is here, and she's very loud, but she's not the most sparkling wit.)**


	50. Chapter 50

**Hello! How are you all doing? I hope everyone who is reading this is well and happy.**

**I'm glad most of you liked the rhyme. Also, one person asked what Ollivander was doing. Don't worry, he is still there - he is just not entering some of the conversations since they seem a bit too girly for his tastes, or too personal.**

**Anyway, I hope you follow the example of these wonderful people and review - Taffyrose, h1001babo, awaylaughingonafastcamel, attyfan, Madeline Cullen, AbiCullen, Likewow5556, Moromu, Jarka, iluvwriting, Arlath's Daughter, notwolf, PrincessSophie21 and Boo81393.**

**Previously: Eva and Luna were captured, and are passing their time in the Malfoy dungeons.**

* * *

They passed quite a lot of their time playing random games. Not I-Spy, surprisingly, but other question games. Truth or Dare wasn't much fun, since there weren't many dares you could do, and there weren't many secrets that they didn't know about each other. Still, there were a few questions Eva was dying to ask, and although Luna showed no outward signs of curiosity, she had her own questions.

Her very first nearly stumped Eva, and tested her promise to tell her friend everything. But she wanted someone to know everything about her before she died, and in her current mood that death seemed pretty imminent.

So when Luna asked why she considered Draco a traitor, when he had never been enough on the side of Light to betray it, she answered.

"He might not have been in the Order, or the DA. He might have always said everything that marked him out as one of them, going on about Mudbloods and filth. But when he taught me my first magic, he was teaching me how to protect myself from the Dark Lord, not how to fight with him. He wasn't on our side, the DA's side, but he was on _my _side. Or I thought he was. Even when I went to Hogwarts, saw how he was first hand, I believed why he would be doing it. I believed it was to protect him amongst the Slytherins."

She flushed a deep, angry red at the memory. "And it just made it worse, that he let me go around like a fool, telling everyone that he was 'good at heart.'" The hands which she had raised mockingly in air quotes dropped and she wiped the tears from her face. "While he was poisoning Ron and cursing Katie and working out a way to prove me wrong. To shatter what he'd promised that I'd have one day, a happy home."

Eva was proud and didn't exactly find it easy to let people in. So it made sense now. If you realised just how much she'd trusted Draco, then it was simple to see why her emotions had turned against him now.

And it wasn't a far leap to Luna's next question. "Do you think anything is impossible to forgive?"

As always, Eva caught the undercurrent in her friend's question. _'Could I forgive Draco?' _she wondered. '_If he apologised? If he changed sides?' _

She answered her own, silent, questions aloud, although Luna seemed to understand perfectly. "He wouldn't do that though," she pointed out bitterly. "This year isn't a blip, it's who he is. _I_ was wrong about him, not everyone else. I could only forgive him if he repented, and there's as much chance of that as Bellatrix being pronounced completely sane."

Both girls had had the opportunity in the last month to know the unlikeness of this event. For Luna it had been her first proper meeting, since the glimpses in the Department of Mysteries didn't count, while for Eva it was only the renewal of an old acquaintance.

Eva continued. "There's no point forgiving and forgetting if it'd only happen again at the first opportunity."

But part of her, a part hat had been smothered since Dumbledore's death protested at this, tried to cry out that her six years' knowledge of Draco shouldn't be overruled by just one of his deeds. Tried to say that anyone could change, that she shouldn't condemn him when she still didn't understand why he'd done as he did.

Shoving the rogue emotions away, she forced a light-hearted tone into her voice. "That's two questions you've got away with," she rebuked. "It's my turn now."

Luna's silence was an invitation for her to go ahead. Hesitating for only a moment, she plunged in.

"What would scare you?" she asked, cutting to the chase. "I've seen you fight; I've seen you face the Carrows. And no offence, but you're a Ravenclaw. Your House isn't known for its bravery, but you never panic. You're as serene in the face of a brutal cursing as you would be if it was a child's tantrum."

She was right. Luna never seemed angry, or frightened. Eva had seen her happy, yes, and had once even caught her by surprise. But even now, when they'd been captured, she didn't betray any feelings of fear.

"It's not the end of the world," Luna shrugged. "You can face anything, if there's nothing to be afraid of. If they do get me, what's the worst that could happen? I die and see my mother again? I can accept that. Dying isn't the end."

Eva looked at her in awe. "I wish I could think like that," she admitted. "You'd think that I'd have resigned myself to death by now, but then someone gave me a chance…."

Her voice trailed away before she could add 'and now it's been taken away again'.

"You haven't answered the question," she pointed out. "What scares you the most?"

"Being alone," Luna said simply. "Losing all my friends is the scariest thing that could happen to me. I never had friends until my fourth year, but now I don't know what I'd do without you."

Said by someone else, this might have sounded clichéd. But from Luna, spoken so plainly, it sounded perfect. Eva felt a lump in her throat.

"Thanks," she managed. "Same here."

As best as they could manage in the dark, the two girls hugged. But not a normal hug. Instead Luna looped one arm around Eva's shoulders as she squeezed.

'_How does she know?_' Eva wondered.

She was wondering how Luna had realised just what kind of hug she needed, what kind her body had been craving from all the talk about her past and her feelings that she might have lose Draco forever. Because that awkward, one-armed hug was just the hug that the siblings used to share, from the first time that Draco congratulated Eva on a charm done well, to when he had comforted her after the _Prophet_ article about her had been published.

"Well," she joked, trying not to cry. "That deserves an extra question from you."

Luna didn't hesitate. A question must have just occurred to her, brought on by all the talk of fears. "You and Ginny were so tired last year, after the battle in the tower. You looked like you never got to sleep, until you figured out the Silencio charm, so that Ginny at least wouldn't be woken up by your screaming. Then it took weeks at my house until those nightmares stopped. But now that you're here, they've come back."

* * *

**Well, I'll tell you this - if nobody reviews, they will never escape from this cell. If lots of you do, they will be escaping very, very soon!**

**Hint hint. Hint.**

**:D**

**x**


	51. Chapter 51

**My exams are over! My exams are over! My exams are over!  
I'm free! I'm free! I'm free!**

**Well, until May anyway. Or until March, when I get the results.**

**Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed! And cookies! Don't worry, they will escape from Malfoy Manor, I won't just leave them to rot. **

**So thanks to and cookies to - ShadowMoonDancer, Someone aka Me, Madeline Cullen, Likewow5556, awaylaughingonafastcamel, rose-by-another-name, Jarka, Moromu, ctc, attyfan, h1001babo, notwolf, Boo81393, sisteralways0894, carcar3, Jaddabeanx, Arlath's Daughter and AbiCullen.**

**Previously: Luna asked Eva about her nightmares, which she'd conquered over the summer but had come back now that she was trapped in Malfoy Manor.**

* * *

Eva remained silent. She didn't want to think about her nightmares. They took up enough of her time when she slept, she didn't need them to encroach on her waking hours too.

"_You promised to answer every question," _her conscience said firmly. "_Now go."_

"I never had nightmares before last summer. I was living in one, so what was the point of dreaming it, I guess. But that spell……"

In the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, last summer, she had been hit with a unique spell from one of the Death Eaters. It had trapped her in a paralysis, unable to cry or scream, while it tormented her with nightmare visions. Everyone had thought her dead, except Luna.

"I could hear you," she said, knowing that her friends had wondered about that for months. "But my mind twisted everything that people were saying, and I couldn't tell what was true or not. It was awful, being released and discovering that what I thought about Draco and Dumbledore was true. But then it was like it had opened a gate, and the nightmares wouldn't stop. My mind wouldn't stop conjuring all these terrible scenarios. What might have happened when I was a child, what happened last year, what could happen now. They just went round and round in my brain, every night."

She didn't have to remind Luna how little sleep she had got. Unable to use the Silencing Charm once they left Hogwarts, both girls had been woken each night by her screams. Their eyes had grown bruised with lack of sleep, until finally, one night after an incredibly long hike, she had sunk into an exhausted sleep and had continued to sleep, dreamless, throughout the night.

After that, the nightmares had been gone, pretty much. But as soon as they had been thrown back into the prison where she had grown up, they had returned.

"I think it's all the memories this place has. And not exactly good ones, at that. It might not be the same cell, it's a bit dark to tell. But it was a cell like this one where I used Dark Magic for the first time, where I was first put under Cruciatus, when…."

She trailed off. "You get the picture," she ended.

Luna looked at her. "We'll have to fix it again, then."

"How?" she asked wearily. "I'm always falling into dozes here, so I'm not actually short of sleep. And I can't exactly tire myself out with exercise."

"To speak is to exercise the mouth. To think is to exercise the brain." Luna recited, the words sounding similar to a quote.

"Where did you read that?" Eva asked flippantly.

Ignoring her, Luna continued. "If we talk about happy memories until you fall asleep, you shouldn't have nightmares."

And they did just that, reliving every moment of the previous summer holidays, along with some of the better moments of the last school year. Miraculously, it actually worked, and uninterrupted sleep returned, to the relief of them all.

So they spent their mornings exchanging secrets, not caring at all that Ollivander might be listening. Then the three of them played odd games, until you would have sworn that they were skilled Legilimens from how quickly they could guess each other's answers. And in the evenings they tried to keep as much light-heartedness as possible.

Of course, 'morning' and 'evening' became loose terms. Evenings were when they were tired. Midday was when their single meal appeared. Morning was when they woke up. And that pattern carried on for days, with only the unpleasant intrusions of various Death Eaters to shatter their peace.

Then came one morning, or evening – although they did know that it was during Easter as the DA had written to them to say that they were going on the Easter holiday. They had been talking as usual, but their conversation was cut abruptly silent by the sounds of a commotion above. There were yells and shrieks, but they tried to continue their conversation as normal. "_After all," _she thought bitterly, "_it's not like these sounds are unusual to Malfoy Manor."_

But these sounds were different, in that they were followed by the unmistakeable sound of footsteps, coming closer. Several sets of them, unless she was mistaken. The cell door was pulled open, and a few figures, dark against the outside light, were thrust in.

They were yelling something, although Eva didn't take in the words.

She stared, her breath coming in short gasps. She couldn't believe this. She'd never entertained hopes of any sort of rescue, but, equally well, had never imagined that others would be captured with them. She'd thought that she would die in that cell, with Luna and Ollivander for company.

"_I don't know how Luna is always so calm,"_ she thought dizzily, as she listened to her friend speaking. _"I can barely think straight."_

She couldn't see the newcomers, but from the voices it was clear who it was. Then she heard the screams from above. "Hermione," she whispered, but her voice was drowned out by Ron's bellows.

Concentrating on Hermione's voice, she missed the conversation that was taking place in the cell, until suddenly there was a click and the room was full of light. After spending so long in the gloom, it burned her eyes and she was forced to screw them shut.

As she eventually cracked one eyelid open, she saw who had joined them. Harry and Ron, as she'd been able to tell from the voices. And also Dean Thomas, the Gryffindor seventh year who had been Seamus' friend. And, oddly enough, a goblin.

"Eva!" Harry gasped. "You're here too?"

"For quite a while now," she remarked dryly. "Welcome to my family home."

She could sense Dean's astonished eyes on her, and suddenly remembered that he'd never seen her as she had been since the summer holidays, more extroverted and less abrasive than ever before.

"The cellar is completely escape-proof," Luna was saying. "I tried at first."

Eva half-smiled, remembering that. They'd been learning Apparition when they were taken, so one of the first things that Luna had tried had been that, followed by a lot of wandless magic and attempts to silently summon animals to help.

They'd asked Ollivander if, seeing as he was a wand maker, he could make a wand out of a spare strip of wood. But he had pointed out that he would need a wand to do so.

Eventually they'd given up, or rather Luna had. Eva had never bothered, overtaken as she had been by a lethargic pessimism that they were doomed.

Then a sound that she had expected even less shook Eva out of her thoughts. A frightened, shaking voice, yet one that was oddly filled with determination.

"Stand back! I'm coming in, don't try anything. I have a wand."

"_Draco," _she thought, feeling a stab of hope, then forced it back down. He hadn't helped last time, why would he have changed?

Her brother entered the room. Dean's gaze flicked between him and her, as did Ollivander's. Luna was still gazing at a wall, whilst Ron and Harry were glaring at Draco, hostility in their every particle.

His eyes were fixed on the two of them, although he did throw a momentary glance towards Eva. But she was imitating Luna, and thoroughly inspecting the wall beside his head.

* * *

**He's back! I know lots of you were missing him in the last chapter.**

**So are you glad to see him?**

**You know, since I don't know Legilimency (yet, although I'm working on it), there's only one way to tell me.**

**So, REVIEW! **

**Wow, I wish I knew Legilimency. How much easier would life be.**


	52. Chapter 52

**Thanks for reviewing - h1001babo, Jarka, Boo81393, PrincessSophie21, Arlath's Daughter, Madeline Cullen, rose-by-another-name, AbiCullen, Likewow5556, notwolf, carcar3, Lemonysnicker, ShadowMoonDancer, cyiusblack, awaylaughingonafastcamel and Someone aka Me**

**Guess what! This story is now longer than some of the Harry Potter books! (excluding Author's Notes). I'm quite shocked at my self that I managed to find time to write a book-length story.**

**Right. So, lots of you were once more glad to see Draco back. But will you like what happens next?**

**Previously: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Griphook and Dean were all captured and taken to Malfoy Manor, where, of course, Hermione was separated and Bellatrix began to torture her whilst the others reunited with Eva and Luna. Then Draco walked in, and everyone froze.**

* * *

Draco stood there, and for a long moment, nobody spoke,

Then he did what not one of them had expected. He strode forward, his wand outstretched, heading for Harry. The others tensed, preparing to fight. And he stopped, opened his hand and let his wand lie there.

"Take it," he said roughly.

"What?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"Take it, go get Granger and get out. All of you, go."

Shock was written across all of their faces.

"You're giving me your wand?" Harry clarified, unable to believe his senses.

"That's what I said," Draco snapped. "Now hurry up, unless you want Aunt Bella to torture her again."

Harry stretched out his hand to take the wand, moving slowly. He still could not trust Draco, no matter what he was doing.

Eva's shocked gaze had turned to them the instant that she had heard Draco's words. Fear, jubilation, love, surprise – a whirlwind of emotions was raging inside of her and she found herself unable to speak.

Then, if she had been able to become more surprised, she would have been. A crack echoed through the cell and a figure appeared in the middle of the room.

"Dobby?" Harry asked, staring at the House-Elf. "How did you-"

"Dobby can do what wizards cannot, Harry Potter. Dobby is here to help you!" Dobby suddenly noticed Draco, and raised a finger to stun him. But Harry held up a hand to stop him.

"No, Dobby! He's helping us," he said, eyeing Draco with distrust. "I think," he added quietly afterwards.

Frozen in place, the others did nothing but stare. After so many months of nothing whatsoever happening, Eva's brain was going into overload. First Draco, now Dobby. Would Colin burst through a wall next and compound her confusion?

Thankfully, Harry's brain seemed clearer than hers. "_I guess he gets more practise at this sort of thing," _she thought wryly. "_Then again, not many people have to deal with the brother who abandoned you and the house-elf who raised you both turning up to rescue you from your ancestral home."_

"Right," Harry said. "I think I've got a plan. Ron-" He looked at Ron's resolute face. "If I take Draco's wand, you can come with me to get Hermione. Griphook, can you go in with Draco and cause a distraction, so that we can rush in and grab wands and Hermione. Dobby, if you can take Luna, Dean, Mr Ollivander and Eva out of here-" he was cut off by a squeal from the house-elf.

"Miss Eva! You are here?"

"Over here, Dobby," Eva smiled, relieved that she knew what to do here. Dobby hurried over, bowed quickly and then began fussing over her torn, dirty robes and bedraggled hair.

"Dobby did not know that you were here, Miss Eva, or Dobby would have come to rescue you straight away!"

"I know that. I was alright, honest." She thought guiltily of the panic attacks she had had since returning to her childhood prison, but was determined not to mention them. Particularly not with Draco standing there. The tumult of feelings concerning him were too fresh for her to understand them yet.

"A good plan, Mr. Potter, but with one flaw." Most of them jumped to hear Ollivander, speaking for the first time since Harry and Ron had entered the cell.

"What's that?" Harry asked warily.

"Mr Malfoy's wand. If he simply hands it to you, it will not transfer its allegiance and will be very unwilling to work in your hands."

"So what does he do?" Dean asked impatiently, clearly eager to be out of the dank, dark cell.

"Disarm Mr. Malfoy."

Harry voiced what they were all thinking. "How? I haven't got a wand."

"The simplest magics can be done without a wand, Mr Potter. Or do you not remember childhood?"

Harry nodded. "Alright." He turned to face Draco, who was still holding his wand outstretched. "Expelliarmus!" To Eva's relief, the wand shot out of her brother's hand and into Harry's.

"Okay," Harry continued, Draco's wand in his hand. "As I was saying, if Dobby takes you four humans out. Then, Dobby, can you come back? For Ron, Hermione, Griphook and I." He cast a look towards Draco. "And Malfoy, I guess."

Surprise and relief flickered briefly on Draco's face for a moment, but he masked them almost at once with his customary sneer.

"Where to, Harry Potter?" Dobby asked eagerly.

"Shell Cottage," Ron supplied. "Bill and Fleur's place," he added in explanation to the others. "Shell Cottage, in Tinworth."

As Dobby grabbed Eva and Luna's hand, and Dean and Ollivander gathered around to hold onto his shoulders, Eva watched her her brother leave, trailed by Griphook and the two Gryffindors. She had the mad urge to suddenly yell something out to him.

_But what? 'I'm sorry?' 'I love you?' 'Be careful?' 'Thank you?'_ As she chose between them, she realised that the cell walls were dissolving in a swirl, and let it go.

"_I can say it when we meet again," _she thought happily. "_We'll meet at this Shell Cottage, and he'll be on the right side again, then I can thank him and remind him that we're still siblings, no matter what I said.."_

* * *

Slowly a garden appeared out of the swirling mists, followed by a cottage and a little fence. Their feet hit the ground with a thump, and they let go of each other's hands, staggering slightly.

Dobby prepared to go again.

Eva had fallen to the floor, and was now sitting on the grass, marvelling at the feel of the blades beneath her fingers. "Good luck," she called up to him.

"Thank you, Miss Eva," he chirped, and was gone.

Two people were running out of the cottage, people who Eva vaguely recognised from their wedding. But she left it to Dean to explain who they were, and what they were doing, and instead wandered towards the cliff, the sound of the sea unfamiliar to her ears.

"It's beautiful," she murmured to herself, and was startled when she heard a reply from Luna.

It was only a yes, but there was so much meaning behind it that Eva turned to look at her.

"I didn't think I'd ever see the sea," she sighed. "Or see the stars again, or feel the grass. But now….I'm free, and I've got so much I want to do." She laughed, pure happiness resounding in the way that it hadn't in her laughter whilst imprisoned. "I'm free," she repeated happily. "I'm free!"

Hands out, she spun in a circle. Then, dizzy all of a sudden, she collapsed to the ground and lay there, laughing happily. She gazed up at the sky, wondering what all the constellations were. "Now I have the time to learn them," she smiled. "I wonder which one it is that Luna chose for me?"

She couldn't have said how long she lay there. She might have dozed off, but the next thing she knew was a sharp crack. She spun and stood, all in one motion.

Her mind whirling from the sudden blood rush to her head, she squinted at the five figures who had appeared on the grass.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Aargh! I've succumbed again.**

**Sorry, everyone.**

**Maybe by the end of the story I'll get over my addiction to them.**

**x**


	53. Chapter 53

**Thank you so much if you reviewed - sorry if it took me a long time to reply, but I was unfortunately hit by an annoying bug which meant that I wasn't really up to getting out of bed, let alone writing. **

**Thanks for writing them, especially happy ones - they made a not-particularly-happy weekend much better. I really do treasure each one. So thanks to - Madeline Cullen, h1001babo, Likewow5556, Arlath's Daughter, notwolf, Boo81393, awaylaughingonafastcamel, Jarka, rose-by-another-name, ShadowMoonDancer, vanillabean18, iluvwriting, AbiCullen, carcar3, Someone aka Me, and PrincessSophie21.**

**I'll get on with the story now, since I'm only just finishing it. Please forgive any spelling typos - I haven't had chance to check it through much, but it is actually longer than normal. Maybe being ill is good for me?**

**Previously: Draco held out his wand to Harry and said **"**Take it, go get Granger and get out. All of you, go." Then Dobby arrived, and a plan was made to get everyone out. Dobby Apparated with Eva, Luna, Dean and Ollivander, then went back for the other five. But who came back?**

* * *

There were five of them, three full-sized, two smaller. Then one of the smaller figures collapsed to the ground, and the full-sized one bent over him.

"Dobby!" he cried, and Eva could recognise Harry's voice. "Help! Dobby, no, don't die! Don't die!"

She sprinted towards them, her muscles aching after such a long disuse. Harry was kneeling by Dobby, the other standing around helplessly. And Dobby…Dobby's eyes were open, unseeing. The stars in which Eva had rejoiced so recently were reflected in their inky depths.

She stumbled and came to a halt. "What happened?" she asked, in a dead voice that was completely unlike her own.

Someone began explaining, although she didn't catch most of it. The plan had gone wrong, Pettigrew had come out, he had died, they'd gone in, Bellatrix had thrown her knife…

One thing stuck in her head though. 'Malfoy went in first with Griphook." It took a while to register, Eva being unaccustomed to thinking of her brother by his last name. But when it did, she glanced up, life flooding back to her face.

"Where is he?" she asked tightly.

The others exchanged horror-struck glances at each other. Eva didn't need to be psychic to know what they meant.

"You left him behind," she supplied. "You forgot him, and left him there after he helped us."

"Well, he didn't help us that much," Ron tried to say, frightened of her anger. But Eva had changed since last summer, when she'd nearly attacked Harry for cursing Draco.

Now, it was not anger that filled her, but grief, and guilt. "I should have said everything I wanted to say," she murmured. "I should have forgiven him when I had the chance."

"You're talking like he's dead," Hermione reassured her. "I'm sure he's fine. When he went in, we made it look like we had just escaped-"

"Yes, of course. Because the Dark Lord takes betrayal lightly? Even if they don't realise that he betrayed them, he still failed. You-Know-Who might kill them all, just for that." Sunk in misery, she wandered away, back to the edge of the cliff.

Ron looked worriedly after her. "She's not going to jump, is she?" he asked in a loud whisper.

Hermione sighed. "I doubt it. She's just upset, and I can't blame her."

"But Malfoy was a git!" Ron protested.

The brunette eyed him thoughtfully. "Imagine if Percy had rescued you, then you'd left him to You-Know-Who. How would you feel?"

Ron swallowed. "Oh."

"Exactly," Hermione sighed, and she turned to look at Luna. "Should we go talk to her?" she asked uncertainly. "It's been so long since I saw her, I barely know her anymore."

Luna shook her head. "She'll be crying," the blonde said sadly. "Eva doesn't like witnesses when she cries."

* * *

It was dawn, and the sun was casting red light over Eva's hunched figure. It gilded her hair, and turned her pale skin crimson.

She gazed at them dispassionately. "_Red for Gryffindor"_ she mused, "_or red because I'm as good as a murderer."_

Harry had spent the night outside too, and had dug a grave for Dobby. Now, her grief for Draco taking a back seat for a moment, she dragged herself over and looked down at the House-Elf, lying lifelessly on someone's cloak.

She sighed. "So I lose all of my childhood friends, all at once."

The others had come out now, and were gathered around Dobby.

Luna bent down to close his eyes, and Eva waited for the upwelling of tears to her own. But they never came. _"I guess I'm all cried out," _she thought miserably.

As Harry lowered Dobby into the grave, and the others watched, Luna spoke. "I think we ought to say something. I'll go first, shall I?"

Eva eyed her friend with gratitude as she spoke words that Dobby would have loved. The rest of them followed, with a mixture of thanks, and an emotion-choked goodbye from Harry.

Then it was her turn.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice rusty from the night. "Thank you for saving me, when I was a child and now. Thank you for being there for me. You saved my life so many times, but I guess all I can say is thank you." She managed a weak smile. "And I hope there are socks where you are now."

Luna wrapped an arm around her shoulders and Eva returned it, glad of the human contact.

* * *

As the weeks passed, they sank into a kind of routine. Harry, Ron and Hermione went off on their own for long periods of time, hiding out in their room or wandering off into the distance.

Eva knew they were planning something, but couldn't find the energy in her to care. She was too filled with grief, for what she had just lost, and relief that she hadn't died.

Dean brought them up to date with anything that had happened recently, which wasn't much. Apparently Hagrid had held a party to support Harry, and had then fled into the grounds with Grawp.

They kept up as much of a correspondence as they could with the DA, telling them that they were safe, and free. They also mentioned that Dean was there, knowing Seamus and the other seventh-years would want to find out.

The rest of the time, Luna and Eva did much as they had over the previous summer. They talked less, having said all they wanted to say in the last few months, but just walked. Eva didn't know if Luna, like her, had given up hope of seeing the outside world again, but the Ravenclaw seemed as eager as she did to explore it again and reacquaint herself with every aspect, from the dew on the grass to the rough bark of trees.

They wandered down to the beach, where Luna and Dean together taught Eva to swim as she shuddered at the cold and the salty taste of it. She'd been in the Prefects bathroom, but that was the extent of her water experience.

They collected driftwood to burn on the fire, watched the strange colours of it, and planted flowers over Dobby's grave.

One day, after Ollivander had left to go to a safe house, he sent both Luna and she another wand. Delighted to have a wand again, though she had loved her old one as a symbol of having beaten Lucius, she and Luna tested them out, sometimes lending one to Dean so that he could practise his own spells.

They often talked about what might be in them, although their curiosity stopped short of actually breaking them open to find out. Luna's was slender, and pale. It was very flexible and fit her hand like it had always been there. Plus it held up her hair far better than her old one had.

Eva's was also pretty flexible, although it was stouter and the wood wasn't pale, but a dark, rich brown. Casting spells was easier with it than ever before, and she and Luna practised their Patronuses. Eva had expected her wolf to be irritated by Luna's hare once more - but she discovered that her own Patronus had changed form.

Now, a sleek, silver dragon emerged from Eva's wand. The others looked away guiltily when they saw it, and she always felt tears prick to her eyes. Yet she couldn't stop casting it, even sometimes when she wasn't practicing, but just sitting on her own, thinking.

Finally Harry, Ron and Hermione left the cottage, Griphook at their side. Eva didn't know where they had gone, and although she was starting to become curious, she had the same reluctance to find out, because doing so would mean that the war became real again. That would break the gentle tranquillity and peace of mind she had found here, and she was unwilling to do so, though the worry in the eyes of both Bill Weasley and his wife nearly provoked her to ask.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Sorry Eva didn't go with them, like some of you thought, but I don't think they'd have wanted her to go, and she's still too upset over Dobby and Draco to have any curiosity. **

**Review!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**And is the plural for Patronus, Patronuses? Or Patroni? **

**x**


	54. Chapter 54

****

Not many chapters left now! Hope you'll all stick with me to the end.

**Thank you for reading this far, thank you to anyone who has reviewed and a particular thanks to last chapter's reviewers - Someone aka Me, Madeline Cullen, h1001babo, Lunar Sunrise, vanillabean18, attyfan, gogguli, AbiCullen, ShadowMoonDancer, Boo81393, notwolf, cyiusblack, awaylaughingonafastcamel, Moromu, rose-by-another-name, Likewow5556, Jarka and carcar3.**

**Previously: They escaped from Malfoy Manor thanks to the aid of Draco and Dobby, but Dobby was killed in the escape and Draco was left behind. The Trio then left for a mysterious mission, whilst Luna, Eva and Dean remained at Bill and Fleur's cottage.**

* * *

They had been practising spells again, as many jinxes and hexes as the three of them could remember when suddenly both Luna and Eva had broken off with a gasp. Dean looked at them, surprised.

"You alright?" he asked.

"My coin," Eva explained. This might not have made sense to most people, but Dean had been a member of Dumbledore's Army with the rest of them in fifth year.

"It's burned?" he said excitedly.

Luna held hers out and he crowded round to read the message.

"HP here. Time to fight. Apparate into Hog's Head." Luna said, in tones that suggested she was commenting on the weather. Dean didn't take it so calmly: he let out a whoop before beginning to run towards the cottage.

"Where are you going?" Eva called after him.

He did not even slow down as he replied. "Telling the Weasleys."

It took mere moments to get ready; Bill sent off a Patronus to contact Lupin and Tonks, Fleur grabbed her wand. The three teenagers waited impatiently for them to prepare themselves. Neither Luna nor Eva knew how to Apparate, having been taken from school before they began to learn how.

Bill threw them an uncertain glance. Knowing what he was about to suggest before he did so, Eva cut him off. "We're fighting. It's our lives too."

"And me and Luna are of age," Dean pointed out. "You can't stop us."

Luna didn't even bother to say anything, merely watching him with her imperturbable stare. Knowing when he was beaten before he started, Bill gave up.

"I'll Apparate with Eva then," he sighed. "Fleur, if you could take Luna. We'll have to Apparate right into the bar; there're Curfew Charms on Hogsmeade to stop anyone entering."

Minutes later, they were clambering through the portrait hole, following a long corridor down. The grumpy barman said very little, merely waving them along and remarking that he expected more would be along, so they better get a move on.

As they spilled out of another portrait on the far end, Eva recognised the Room of Requirement, though only barely. It had surpassed itself from the earlier DA meetings by far. On the other side of the room, Seamus gave a roar of delight at seeing Dean.

His shout drew attention, and other students were rushing to welcome them back. Colin hurried towards them. Meaning to greet him with the one-armed hug she had once given her brother, Eva was taken aback when he hugged her enthusiastically.

"How've you been? Are you alright?" He asked excitedly, his words tumbling over each other in their hurry to get out.

"Better than you, it seems," she remarked dryly. A cut ran down one side of his face and his arms showed bruises until they were covered by his robes.

He shrugged. "Carrows." Possibly more tactful than Eva, he didn't mention that she didn't look that much better, her face still pale from her long imprisonment, her blue eyes seeming over-large in a face that had lost too much weight.

"Well, I didn't expect it would have been the Tooth Fairy."

Colin laughed. "I started cheering when Terry Boot rushed in to tell us about Harry breaking into Gringotts. They took it badly. That's when I decided to come up here."

"Are you sleeping up here?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Neville was first. He got in here just in time, when the Carrows tried to catch his Gran. Then they all started turning up. I've been staying out as long as I could. It's easier to keep in contact with people like that, but they started cracking down on anyone who wasn't a full pure-blood. Good thing they never realised I was Muggleborn, though it was only a matter of time."

"And then you would have been doomed," Eva agreed. "Hang on, did you say that the Carrows went after Neville's Gran? And that Harry broke into Gringotts?"

"Yeah! On a dragon, as well! As for Neville's Gran, they worked out with you and Luna that taking the kid makes the parent behave. So even the Carrows could figure that it would work the other way round, and Neville's being a bit of a pain to them."

"I can imagine," Eva laughed.

More and more people were entering now. With a leap in her heart, Eva saw Ginny arrive, followed by most of her family. She wanted to go over, but saw that the group of them were involved in what looked to be a deeply important conversation with Harry.

She felt a strange impulse to stay exactly where she was – and she did so. She caught up with Colin on all the little things, things that couldn't have been said through a coin. And didn't notice Harry and Luna, then Ron and Hermione leave. Nor did she notice when more and more people began to arrive, crowding into the Room, although it never got too cramped. She only finally noticed when Harry returned and she caught two important words – 'we're fighting!'

_'Well of course we are,' _she thought, mentally rolling her eyes. _'You wouldn't have been able to stop us.'_

Colin, it seemed, thought the same. Grabbing her hand, he towed he down to the Great Hall, following Dean and Luna.

Along the way, other students joined them and by the time they reached the Hall, it was nearly full. The adults seemed to have scattered fairly equally between the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables – although it may not have been as random as it looked. As far as an amused Eva could tell, they had all gone to sit at the table of their original House.

Eva scanned the Slytherin table, looking for one blond head in particular, but couldn't see him. She felt a rush of dread in her stomach. "_What if You-Know-Who punished him so badly for our escape that he can't come back because he's too injured?" _she worried.

Harry was the last to enter the Hall. She watched him walk along the tables, clearly looking for something, or someone. McGonagall began her speech.

"The time has come. It has been a dark year for us all, but now the Final Battle approaches. You-Know-Who is coming to the school, and we are planning the evacuation now. It will be overseen by Mr Filch and Madam Pomfrey. Prefects, when I give the word, you will organise your house and take your charges, in an orderly fashion, to the evacuation point.

Suddenly her voice was cut off. A high-pitched voice, cold as ice spoke. It was horrible familiar to Eva, though it was recognisable even if it hadn't have been. Who else would have a voice which resonated with so much evil?

**"Give me Harry Potter**," Voldemort's voice commanded, "**and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight**." The spine-chilling tones faded away.

Eva rolled her eyes. "Idiot. Does he really think we'd give him up?" She sneered contemptuously.

But not everyone, it turned out, shared her sentiments. A figure stood up from, of course, the Slytherin table. "But he's there! Potter's _there_!" It was Pansy Parkinson, and Eva had never felt more dislike for her pug-like face. The knowledge Draco had confided in her, that he also detested the vapid, cruel girl, gave her immense satisfaction. "Somebody grab him!"

For once, Eva didn't think as a Malfoy. Instead she thought as a Gryffindor and, with the rest of Housemates, got to her feet. Standing between Pansy and Harry, they faced her coldly. Merely moments behind them were the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables.

The same victory that Eva felt showing in her tone, McGonagall spoke. "Thank you, Miss Parkinson. You will leave the Hall first with Mr Filch. If the rest of your house could follow."

The tables slowly cleared out. Several of the older Ravenclaws stayed, Luna, Terry and Michael among them.

Even more Hufflepuffs remained. Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan, all of the Hufflepuff DA who were of age. It was only with reluctance that the under-17's left.

When the time came for Gryffindor to evacuate, Eva stayed stubbornly in her place. She wasn't the only one. All of her year did. Even a few fifth-years remained standing. But McGonagall quickly realised this and came to chivvy them out. The fifth-years were sent away without further delay. The lucky, or unlucky, depending on your opinions, members of her year who had already had their birthdays would not be sent away.

McGonagall had reached Eva, who looked at her implacably. "I was born in 1978, Professor. Same year as the Weasley twins. That makes me of age, technically."

There were a thousand arguments against it – like the fact that she was only a second year in terms of education, like the fact that her father might specifically target her. But McGonagall let them pass. She moved on and Eva let out the breath of relief she hadn't realised she had been holding. Quickly she scribbled something on a piece of parchment.

Professor McGonagall was next to her, firmly sending Colin and another classmate of theirs, Jimmy Peakes, away. As Colin left, Eva grabbed hold of him.

"See you," she said, hugging him tightly – an uncharacteristic move, for her.

He looked at her curiously but didn't speak. Then, he did something that she hadn't expected. Just as she was letting go, he hugged her, even closer than she had him. Then he nodded and left the Hall.

* * *

**The battle is coming!**

**I can't wait to write it! **

**Please review and encourage me to do so.**

**x**


	55. Chapter 55

**Snow! Snow! It actually snowed so much this week. It's amazing! I love snow - at least for the first bit, while it's still all fresh and untrodden. Once it becomes all icy and brown it's not so good.**

**Anyway, that was off-topic a bit - back to the point, which is thank you to my wonderful readers and particularly my reviewers - notwolf, .AwwLookTheSkyIsCrying, Coll, awaylaughingonafastcamel, Arlath's Daughter, PrincessSophie21, ShadowMoonDancer, Madeline Cullen, iluvwriting, vanillabean18, carcar3, The Breeze, Boo81393, cyiusblack, AbiCullen, h1001babo, rose-by-another-name, Jarka and Likewow5556!**

**I would give you all toffee muffins, but I haven't baked them yet (and when I have, I'll probably eat them all before I can offer them round)**

**Previously: Everyone returned to Hogwarts for the Battle, and they gathered in the Great Hall - but McGonagall sent away the underage students, Colin included.**

* * *

The Hall was soon half-empty, and it seemed lonely like this. Eva didn't recognise half the people there, most of them being adults.

She listened to the plan, trying to cement it all in her brain. Then she fled the Hall, heading straight up the stairs towards the Room of Requirement.

Once she was certain that everyone had already passed her, she slipped in. Ginny stood there, anger on her face at being refused a chance to fight.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked, knowing that Eva wouldn't be fleeing, but unable to think of another reason for why she would be there.

Eva grinned. "Colin!" she called. From the balcony that lined the top of the Room, a voice called back.

"Hey!" He slowly came into view as he cancelled the Disillusionment Charm he had used to sneak away from the crowd.

"You got my note then." she said breezily. When she had hugged him, she had slipped a note into his pocket, reading simply '**_Wait in the Room. I'll come soon'. _**

She quickly told him what Professor McGonagall's plan had been. He nodded, but made no attempt to move. "Planning on joining the fight during this century?" she asked.

He laughed. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. And I'm not the only one."

Next to him, more people were appearing. Eva recognised Jimmy, Banulph, Alyssa Jones and a whole group of other sixth-years from the DA.

"Are _all_ the underage sixth years here?" Eva asked, amused.

"All the DA ones, at any rate." Colin agreed. "A couple of fifth-years too." Turning to the others, he took command. "Go out in twos, to different places. Wherever the Room can send you. Don't fight at the very top of Gryffindor Tower, because McGonagall's there. She's still in good enough shape to send us home."

Nodding, the students slipped past him. Eva moved to stand by his side.

"Quite the leader," she noted.

He grinned at her, delighted that she'd noticed. "Luna went at Christmas, then Ginny at Easter. Once all the seventh years started retreating into the Room, Neville needed someone on the outside to command."

"You're good at it," she smiled, then couldn't resist a bit of her old self. "When you're not so hyper that you're bouncing off the walls."

"Makes it hard to assess the situation properly," he agreed mock-seriously. "You can't get a proper viewpoint."

"Really sweet moment and all, but don't you have a battle to fight?" The drawl was so similar to Draco's that Eva jolted in surprise. From a far corner of the room, three more people were also removing a Disillusionment Charm.

Eva had barely had time to notice the green and silver on their robes than Ginny had strode forward, glaring. "What are you doing here?" she snapped. "Trying to sabotage us from the inside? Why haven't you fled with the rest of your cowardly bedmates."

The girl, who had spoken, straightened and met Ginny's glare with an icy stare that would freeze even the redhead's fire.

"For your information," she snapped, "We're here to fight. Against the Dark Lord, not against Hogwarts."

"Why?" Colin questioned, surprised.

"Why are _you_ fighting?" she shot back. He did not answer.

"Why didn't you just stay at the House Tables?" Ginny asked, still not convinced.

"Apart from Adrian, we're under-age," She pointed out. Now that she mentioned it, Eva did recognise her. Andrea Flint, from their year. The two boys with her were Adrian Pucey and Peter O'Neal, also their year.

"Besides," O'Neal said, "We'd basically be telling everyone to hex us if we just sat down there."

Eva frowned. "_I recognise that voice…" _Suddenly it hit her. "You're the person who offered to slip things into the Slytherin Common Room for me!" she gasped. And internally she felt her heart sink. _'I knew it wasn't Draco. I would have recognised his voice, even if he changed it. And he even said that he couldn't slip out of the Common Room. So why am I disappointed?'_

Ginny stared at the three of them with new eyes. "No wonder you didn't recognise his voice," she remarked to Eva. "Catching O'Neal talking is like seeing a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

"You told them about us?" Andrea asked, sounding outraged. "You were told to keep it a secret!"

"She's my best friend," Eva shrugged. "Not to mention the second in command. I tell her everything." Pucey muttered something that sounded like 'Bloody Gryffindors.'

Then Eva frowned at Andrea. "How did you know?" she said suspiciously.

The Slytherin girl shrugged. "Both of us were behind that, but we figured you might recognise my voice."

"Being the big-mouth that she is," Ginny agreed.

"Watch it, Weasley." Andrea threatened, fingering her wand. "We might be on the same side but I'll still hex you."

"Wait," Colin said, trying to understand the conversation. "These three are how you sneaked stuff into the Slytherin Common Room, and found out the password and stuff?"

"Peter and I did the actual stuff," Andrea informed him. "But Adrian's the only one who knew how to perform the Disillusionment Charm."

"And now I've done it, I'll be going." Adrian Pucey informed them.

The Gryffindors stared at him in disbelief.

"What?" he snapped. "I never volunteered to fight, only to help these. I can't think of anything I'd rather do less. Besides," his voice dropped considerably. "My dad'll be running around out there. What if he saw me?"

"So's her brother," Ginny pointed out, gesturing at Andrea Flint, who stared back at her coldly.

"And my dad," Eva pointed out.

"But you don't like your dad, Malfoy. Or your brother, who's also going to be there soon." Andrea was standing up for her house-mate._ "Hufflepuffs aren't the only ones who are loyal to each other,"_ Eva remembered. "_Draco always said that Slytherins had to stick together too, since nobody would help a Slytherin but another Slytherin."_

"And I never said I was brave like you lot," Pucey replied stubbornly. "I never wanted to be. Being brave gets you killed."

Seeing that Ginny was about to retort, Colin intervened.

"Then don't fight," he said calmly. "Instead of fighting, go get help. Find a broom, you're on the Quidditch Team. Then fly. Find back-up from any wizards you see. You know the Seeker Spell?"

The Seeker Spell found fires and buildings of magical origin. It would find any magical dwellings and villages. Adrian Pucey nodded. "Thanks," he said grudgingly and left through the portrait.

Ginny lifted her wand and pointed it at the two other Slytherins. Before they had time to react, she had cast her spell.

"What was that for?" Andrea snapped.

"Change your robes," Ginny pointed out. "In Slytherin colours, you're more likely to be fired on by our side. Or both sides."

She had transfigured the robes to blue and bronze ones. Andrea's face, like those of most Slytherins, betrayed nothing, but Eva knew what she was thinking – Ravenclaw colours, most palatable to a Slytherin, rather than the Gryffindor colours which would have been unbearable. It was a thoughtful move.

Andrea nodded curtly, one equal to another. Then, Peter O'Neal with her, she strode towards the door and left.

Before any of them could say anything, another figure clambered from the portrait. Expecting it to be Adrian Pucey, back again, Eva turned with an exasperated question on her lips. But it died when she saw the odd appearance of the woman approaching.

"Tonks!" Ginny squealed in delight and ran to hug her.

_"Nymphadora Tonks," _Eva realised. "_One of the Order, apparently. And my cousin." _She considered this for a second, watching Tonks.

"Wotcher," Tonks said to Colin, shaking his hand. Then she turned to Eva. Her brow furrowed slightly. "Do I know you?"

"Eva Malfoy," Ginny supplied.

The frown cleared. "Course, I just never saw you conscious."

Eva remembered what Tonks meant. Apparently the Metamorphagus had been the one who helped Luna take Eva's unresponsive body to the Hospital Wing, but they had left by the time Eva had recovered enough to speak.

"Thanks about that," Eva said, also shaking Tonks' hand.

"No problem. We're family, aren't we?"

Eva grinned. "And our family is well-known for being one of the closest," she remarked sardonically.

"So close that we're about to send a few hexes on their way to our beloved aunt, hopefully."

"Can't wait." Eva looked ferocious. She had seen more than enough of Bellatrix to hate the woman. Of course, five minutes were more than enough in this particular witch's case.

But the family reunion couldn't last long. Yet another figure was exiting from the portrait, a formidable-looking old woman.

"Erm, hello?" Colin asked tentatively. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, young man. I'm looking for my grandson."

Ginny was the first to connect the dots. "You're Neville's grandmother!" she gasped.

"_Of course," _Eva thought. "_How many old ladies can there be who turn up at battlefields?"_

Before anything else could be said, Hermione, Ron and Harry arrived.

* * *

**So, okay, this chapter wasn't actually the Battle. Well, it was, but there weren't many hexes being thrown around. Don't worry though, she will fight eventually!**

**If you review, of course.**

**:D**


	56. Chapter 56

**Hello! Four more chapters now, and an Epilogue. I hope you'll all stick with me to the end.**

**Thanks for reviewing - Jarka, h1001babo, Someone aka Me, Advaita, PrincessSophie21, notwolf, Moromu, The Breeze, iluvwriting, Arlath's Daughter, attyfan, Madeline Cullen, Boo81393, vanillabean18, rose-by-another-name, .AwwLookTheSkyIsCrying, Likewow5556, ShadowMoonDancer, AbiCullen, carcar3, awaylaughingonafastcamel and E.S. Everest! **

**Previously: Eva went to the Room of Requirement to find Colin, who had hidden there so that he could still fight. Whilst they were there, Ginny, Neville's grandmother, Tonks and the Trio turned up.**

* * *

The Trio, together in Hogwarts again, looked strange to Eva's eyes, even after the weeks at Shell Cottage. She couldn't quite believe it was real, as she watched while Mrs Longbottom went to find Neville, her whole being seeming quite suffused with pride at her valiant grandson. Then Tonks left to find Remus, who was apparently the man she had declared her love for last summer, something Eva had witnessed as she recovered from her curse.

"You three," Harry began. "I'm sorry, but we need you to leave too. Just for a bit. Then you can come back in."

Deciding not to say that they had already been planning on going, Colin, Eva and Ginny hurried out of the Room of Requirement, Harry's shouts about them having to return trailing behind them. They watched Tonks and Mrs Longbottom leave down the corridor.

"So, where shall we go first?" Colin asked, as though they were on a trip around Hogsmeade.

"It's a nice clear night," Eva remarked. "No rain." Along with this, in her morbid way, she thought _"and if I die, I'd like it to be outside."_

"The grounds it is," Colin agreed. He turned to Ginny. "Coming?"

Ginny shook her head. "I'm going to stay inside. See how it's going." She looked at them seriously. "Good luck."

"I'll second that," Eva replied.

"Me too," Colin said, grinning. "Now let's go!"

Some people would have shook their head at Colin's over-exuberant attitude to joining a life-threatening battle, but not these two. They knew full well that it was his way of coping, just like Hermione's books, Luna's dreaminess and Eva's sarcasm.

Running down the stairs, Colin suddenly took a side-turn. He dragged Eva along with him.

"Where are we going?" she called.

"Common Room!" he replied. At least that was what she thought he said, it being hard to tell over the shrieks and cries of the raging battle .

"But McGonagall's there!" she cried. "I don't want you to be caught and sent back!"

"She's at the top, that's where the Head of Gryffindor's office is. Not the Common Room."

Deciding to trust him in this, and not ask how he knew where McGonagall's office was, she continued to follow him.

Once they reached the Common Room, the unasked question of 'why' was answered. Colin raced up to his room and grabbed two brooms, holding one out to Eva. She shrank back.

"I've never flown before," she admitted.

"There's a first time for everything," he replied encouragingly.

Eva rolled her eyes. "Usually not whilst fighting for your life," she muttered to herself as she held her hand over the broom. "Up!" she commanded and, to her shock, it jumped straight into her hand. _"Must have been the sheer terror in my voice," _she thought wryly as she clambered awkwardly on.

"Let's go!" Colin called, pointing his broomstick straight towards the glass window.

Eva frowned. "I can see a major problem with this," she said apprehensively.

But as Colin pointed his wand at it, the glass vanished.

"Or not," she sighed, following him out of the window and into the sky.

The sheer joy of flying overtook Eva for a moment. The sensation of being high above the ground, able to escape everything. She felt free, something which she craved like an addict for their drug. For one, crazy moment, she thought of pointing her broom over the Forest and leaving for good. But the images of Luna, Ginny and Hermione popped into her head, not to mention Colin's figure flying ahead of her.

Unable to hear each other over the gusting of the wind, Colin had to gesture to show Eva that they needed to go down. She nodded, grasping his meaning and angled her broom downwards, zooming down in a sharp dive that took her breath away.

Then, all too soon, they were within striking distance of the fighters. The Death Eaters were easily distinguishable by their huge, dark robes. They weren't the only enemy, of course. "_Is that a giant?" _she thought, glimpsing a towering figure striding off in the distance. "_Good thing he's over there", _her mind added weakly.

Ashamed of the cowardly impulse as she remembered that the giant being over there meant terrible things for whichever friends of hers who stood there, she joined the battle in earnest.

Colin was already ahead of her, darting and diving on his broom, Stunning and Freezing the Death Eaters from above. A few of the enemy noticed them, and sent various hexes their way. She dodged them, rather than putting up a shield – it was impossible to tell what they were without hearing the incantation. The red jet could be a Stunner, or it could be the far worse Ebullis Curse, which boiled your blood in your veins. The green jets could be Avada Kedavra, or the relatively harmless Rooting Jinx, which sent indestructible vines threading around your body to bind your arms and legs together and your body to the floor.

She swooped and struck, every hex that missed her filling her body with more exhilaration. It was ridiculous, this was a battle, she shouldn't be enjoying it – but, inexplicably, she was. High above the fighters, she felt invulnerable.

She recognised those Death Eaters who had their hoods down and masks off. Savage glee filled her as she took them down, memories of their particular styles of torture fuelling her.

"_Selwyn – he used to like to use Muggle methods, gave it that personal touch," _she remembered as she Stunned one. Taking aim at another, she fired, thinking _"Goyle – too unoriginal for anything but the Cruciatus. Dolohov – he had the idea of Summoning blunt objects to come _through _the bodies of the victims." _She dispatched this last with particular joy. "_I hope Lucius turns up,"_ she thought happily. "_I'd make sure he looked up before I curse him, so he knew that it was the daughter he didn't want, back to see him again."_

Laughing maniacally, she jerked her broom aside so that an orange jet of light could fly past her. She glanced over to Colin, to share the relief. And her heart plummeted. She wouldn't have thought it could fall so far, seeing as how she was only a few metres from the ground.

A green jet of light had caught Colin, just on his shoulder. But it was enough. His body limp, he was already falling from the broom.

Terrified, she put on a burst of speed and caught him as he fell. "No," she whispered, shaking him, searching fro a response, a pulse, anything. "It wasn't…you're not….you have to live. You're _Colin._"

But his lifeless face gave the lie to her words. Her broom, undirected, flew to the ground. She stumbled off, no longer able to carry him. Falling to the floor, all the easier to hold him, a few stray tears fell down her face.

She looked up. Here on the ground, it was too hard to be as she had before. The enemy had grown to their full size, as had her fellow fighters. Before it had been like playing with dolls, but now it was war. And one of the casualties lay before her.

Her anger overflowing, she stood, letting his body slip to the floor. "_Protego corpus_" she whispered, aiming her wand at Colin. His body was now protected, preventing any of the werewolves she had seen lurking around from scavenging.

Then she turned and searched for whoever had cast that last spell. There was no time for spare thoughts here. Dodging was harder than it had been before, when she had felt weightless and unfettered.

She fought with single-minded fury, the relaxed lessons with her friends coming back to her. But her spells were verbal – she had never had the practise to do anything else – and down here, that gave her a serious disadvantage as the blur of lights sped around her, from her wand, towards her body.

* * *

Though she didn't know it, there was someone far across the school who, like Tonks for Lupin, was searching desperately. He had split up from his 'friends' earlier.

"Go find Potter on your own," he had sneered to Crabbe and Goyle as they left the Slytherin Common Room where they had been hiding. "I've got more important things to do."

They had stared, the idea of something more important than capturing Harry Potter too bewildering for their brains to process.

"I said, go!" he snapped, before swaggering off and around the corner. As soon as he had, he cast the Disillusionment Charm at which he and, as a direct result, his sister, were so proficient at. Then he began to race through the school, heading for each new location where Eva might had chosen to fight as it occurred to him. He didn't get involved with the fight that raged around him, preferring to duck, dodge and look after himself first. And as soon as he'd found Eva, he'd look after her too, even if that meant Stunning her and dragging her bodily from the fight.

They'd parted on far too bad terms for him to let her die. Besides, all purebloods had one thing ingrained in them – protecting their own, and to Draco, Eva was his dearest family.

* * *

**Well?**

**Colin's death, Draco, the fighting? **

**Please comment on at least one of them!**

**And I'm sorry about killing him! I really am! **

**x**


	57. Chapter 57

**Thank you for reviewing - PrincessSophie21, rose-by-another-name, Madeline Cullen, iluvwriting, The Breeze, awaylaughingonafastcamel, KarmaLynn, Phoenix Feather Queens, Likewow5556, Moromu, h1001babo, E.S. Everest, vanillabean18, Boo81393, carcar3, AbiCullen, notwolf, Arlath's Daughter, Someone aka Me and MoonShadowDancer (is this the same person as ShadowMoonDancer by any chance? If not, it's a weird coincidence.)**

**Many, many gifts for you all - magic ones, which turn into whatever you want!**

**Previously: Colin and Eva joined the battle on brooms. When Colin died, Eva, inexperienced though she was, started fighting on foot. Which was not a good idea.**

* * *

"I wish they could have seen it. They died when we were losing, died when there wasn't any hope."

"Once the reinforcements came, nobody really died though. Weird, since that was when we all thought it was over, thought Harry was dead. So at least they didn't all die thinking that we were doomed. And they know now that we won."

"You think?" Ginny let the tears roll freely down her cheeks.

"Yes," said Hermione firmly.

Hermione went back with Ginny to Ron, stood as he was with the rest of the Weasleys.

Luna stood there still, her large eyes fixed on Eva's unmoving chest. She said nothing, and her eyes revealed none of her thoughts.

Three more people entered the Hall. Most paid them no attention, for there were hundreds of people coming and going, celebrating Voldemort's fall. But these three were not members of the conquering army. Looking as if they were uncertain of whether they should be there, they huddled in a corner. The youngest of the trio scanned the crowd, his grey eyes impenetrable as they searched.

He couldn't see her. Every time that he saw a flash of dark curls, his heart (though some would debate he even had such a thing) leapt in his chest. But they were never his sister's, never Eva's.

His gaze caught on Ginny, Ron, Hermione and the other Weasleys. He almost started off to talk to them, but it was clear that he didn't quite dare.

His halted movement caught Ron's eye, who nudged Hermione. She, in turn, looked up. The two of them engaged in a whispered, heated discussion. Hermione must have won, because she separated from the little knot of redheads and approached him.

The celebrants did not notice her walking carefully across the Hall. Very quickly, she was stood in front of him. She ignored his mother and father completely.

"What do you want?" Draco Malfoy spat at her, his pride refusing to allow him to ask what he so badly wanted to. "Come to gloat?"

Hermione's reply was soft, so quiet that nobody standing around could hear it. But they heard Draco's response, even above the din that filled the Hall.

"How dare you say that! You filthy, lying…"

His shout attracted glances from around, their eyes narrowing in anger. Hermione shook her head sadly. "If you don't believe me, Malfoy, check in the room up there."

He elbowed past her and took off, racing down the Hall.

A few people looked up, their attention caught by his running footsteps. He paid them no heed, as more and more people turned to stare. He continued to race towards the door behind which all the bodies lay hidden.

In six years of school with him, Ginny had never seen more emotion on his face. Lucius and Narcissa watched him, bewildered. He reached the room, and stormed in.

His angry pace was immediately halted by the sight that lay before him, but whether it was the fifty other bodies that lay there or one particular one, nobody could say.

He stepped forward, his usual swagger gone. Luna moved up silently to allow him room to see the body. Her black curls were in disarray, falling around her pale face. Her blue eyes gazed at him, unseeing. Her lips were still slightly parted, stopped half-way through her frantic spell-casting amidst the battle.

"She was lucky," Luna pointed out softly.

"Lucky?" He glared at her, but grief-stricken eyes held no force. "Stop your mad ravings, Loony."

Luna didn't take offence. "She was hit by an Avada Kedavra. A clean death, painless. Most suffered far more." Her voice held no blame, merely contemplation. "She's peaceful, now, anyway."

"She didn't want peace! She wanted life, she wanted what she never had."

"And whose fault is that?" Ginny's tone, icy with anger, cut through the room. "And how would you know? You didn't know her anymore. The last time you spoke to her was when she was held captive in your house. And you did nothing."

Harry clearly hadn't got around to telling Ginny about everything that had happened. And for Eva, the pain had been too raw to entrust the news to an enchanted coin that would be read by the entire DA.

He looked frightened and angry. "I tried, but she refused. Then at least I didn't tell on them. I couldn't have done more, the Dark Lord would have killed me."

"Some of us would have risked that, to save someone we loved. Not that you know what love is."

"I know, Weasley." He hissed. "I knew Eva for longer than you did. I taught her her first magic. She was the only person I could trust with anything, and vice versa."

"You had a funny way of showing it, destroying the only place she knew as home. Inviting the people she feared into it. Leading it to the state it was in this year."

"What could I have done? I couldn't have stayed close to her at Hogwarts, people would have reported back."

"So? Scared that He would be mad at you?"

"No!" His pale cheeks blotched red with anger.

Luna interrupted. "Scared that he would see Eva as another way to hurt you, if you failed."

He stared at her. "And if I told her, I'd be more likely to fail," he agreed bitterly. "Then she'd be even more in danger.

"And you went so far as to plant something in her trunk, make her doubt people."

Draco stared at Luna. "How-how do you know that?"

"She told me. She worked out it must have been you. We had a lot of time to talk recently. It didn't work, by the way. It just made her doubt herself."

"It was supposed to exacerbate all her doubts, which should have been doubts about all of you." he complained. "Bloody Gryffindor, she just trusted people. You'd think her experiences would have taught her better. But, no, she'd have walked straight into a trap, if she thought someone else was in danger."

"Dumbledore would have kept her safe. We all would have." Ginny asserted.

"Sure. A hated Malfoy? Someone who nobody trusted?" He snorted. "How long would it have been before someone 'forgot' to stay on guard? If a guard went off duty one day when he was protecting _the _Harry Potter, Eva would have had no chance."

"I can see where Eva got her defensiveness from." Ginny sighed. "You taught her to see everyone as a threat, and to keep them at arms length."

"It's the best way to keep safe."

"Yeah, it works really well. Look where it's got you."

He stared at his arm dejectedly. "I tried to find her. I needed to talk to her. I was looking forward to when this was all over. When she would be safe and I could make it up with her."

"She would have forgiven you, if you'd just told her why you did it," Luna said sadly.

Ginny stared at him in disbelief. "When it was all over? If it was all over from _your _side, she'd be dead. You were fighting on the wrong side if you wanted just to 'get it done with' so you two could reconcile."

"I forgot how much of a Gryffindor she was," he said. "I thought-"

"You judged her by your own standards," Ginny interrupted. "She could never have been comfortable if all her friends were dead or imprisoned, and that thing was on your arm."

He rubbed the spot on his left arm, where they all knew that the Dark Mark had once been. "It revolted her."

Luna stared at him. "It was a reminder of everything terrible about her childhood. Of course it did."

"I'll miss her," he muttered.

Ginny's anger faded. "Say goodbye to her," she suggested.

Luna, nodding in agreement, left with the redhead. Alone in the room, the young man embraced his sister's lifeless body awkwardly, her head lying limply on his shoulder. He stayed there for a long time, blond hair meeting black curls as he talked softly to her, all the things he had meant to say in the past, in the future, sometime when they both had chance.

* * *

**Yes, if you haven't got it yet from this chapter, Eva died in the Battle.**

**I'm sorry about killing her! Technically I did put a clue about it at the end of the last chapter...but really, she's happier with Colin, rather than living on her own with all the loss.**

**Please don't kill me. Blame the Death Eaters, it was them. **

**And review?**

**x**


	58. Chapter 58

**Thank you all so much for reading. It's wonderful to see a Story Alert notification in my e-mail, and especially thank you if you've added me to Favourites.**

**My biggest thank you goes to my reviewers though. You really, really make this a high point of my week. This chapter, that is a thank you to - susiipie, Arlath's Daughter, Someone aka Me, Jarka, notwolf, awaylaughingonafastcamel, iluvwriting, Moromu, h1001babo, Jaddabeanx, AbiCullen, Boo81393, carcar3, Madeline Cullen, vanillabean18 and Likewow5556!**

**3 chapters to go now!**

**Previously: The Battle took place. Eva died. **

* * *

It was the thirty-fifth funeral to take place since the Battle of Hogwarts.

Well, it couldn't technically be called a funeral – the bodies had had to be buried long before there was time for funeral services for them all. Most had been buried quietly, and now memorial services were held on the sweeping grounds of Hogwarts.

Everyone had become very practised at them by now. Mourning robes, which were rarely used more than half a dozen times in one person's lifespan, grew worn with use. And the magical traditions at such events were imprinted on the minds of those who would once have been too young to even contemplate them.

Usually the closest friend people of the deceased would speak first, followed by their partner. Finally it would be the turn of a family member.

This particular memorial was not the busiest by far. Most of Dumbledore's Army, those who had survived at any rate, sat in the congregation. Ron was there, but Harry wasn't. He didn't mean any disrespect to Eva, but in the days after Voldemort's fall, there had been huge demand for him. Everyone wanted him at their son, daughter, friend, husband, brother's funeral. Everyone tried to persuade him to speak.

In the end he had been forced to announce that he was only going to attend three funerals – Lupin's, Fred Weasley's and Severus Snape's.

The requests had died down eventually, though with more than a little muttering, especially about the third of those.

The three people who were to speak walked forward. A few people had wondered who they would be, given that most of Eva's family were dead or hated her and that she had two, if not three, best friends and the closest she had ever come to a boyfriend had been memorialised the day before.

The three girls took their places in order, redhead, brunette and blonde. There wasn't a picture of Eva, as there was at most memorial services. As far as they knew, she hadn't lived long enough to be in one.

Ginny stepped forward to speak first.

"I don't know if it's right to say I'm Eva's best friend. In her first year, it would be more apt to call us, with a very few others, her only friends. But last year she made more. Some would call it a bad time, to be less defensive just as the world got more dangerous, but in truth it was the best idea. It was only by sticking together that we survived this war. But we can't forget that some of us didn't make it. If she had lived, Eva-"

Ginny swallowed. "If she had lived," she repeated sadly. "There are so many things that could end that sentence. Probably everyone here could suggest one. If she had lived, Eva would have made a wonderful Healer. If she lived, one of us would have taken her out flying, an experience she never had. If she had lived, I would have invited her to the Burrow for a proper family Christmas. But 'if' is bloody useless now. It's better to think of the good times we did have with her, the times when we couldn't stop laughing. "

"That snowball fight? It was pretty late in the year for snow, so we were all the happier when it came. But none of us were as over the moon as Eva. First time she'd ever seen snow." Ginny grinned crookedly. "So we taught her to snowball fight. What else would you do?"

"And the wedding, she looked so beautiful. Dressed in blue, though it has to be said that red was her favourite colour. The crimson red of Gryffindor, because Eva was a true Gryffindor, no matter what anyone else said. She proved that at the end of fifth year, when she fought with us. I thought she died then, but I was lucky enough to have another term with her."

"And what a term! We didn't make it easy for the Carrows, did we? Dumbledore's Army!" she called, as Neville had in the Final Battle, and received a resounding cheer in response.

"She was as brave a fighter then as any of us, despite her lack of experience. She made up for that with a quick-thinking worthy of a Ravenclaw. And the loyalty of a Hufflepuff. She stood by her friend in the face of the Dementors, no matter what the cost. She endured months in the prison of her nightmares, and came out fighting. She was independent, proud, fierce and guarded. Her Patronus suited her, the Lone Wolf. But she didn't fight alone, and she didn't die alone. Even now, she isn't alone. Our thoughts are with her, and they always will be."

Her speech finished, she stepped to the side, allowing Hermione to come forward.

The brunette smiled slightly. "Obviously, I'm not Eva's boyfriend. I don't even come close. I didn't see Eva in this last year, not until the very end. But I knew her before, knew her as she was still adjusting to life at Hogwarts. She was everything Ginny has said, and more. No, she didn't die alone and she died fighting for her cause, one that she believed in. And I know how happy she'd be that we won. She'd be living everything she didn't get the chance to, experiencing life to the full. And if she was watching us, she'd want us to be doing the same."

Hermione withdrew a piece of paper from the pocket of her robes and unfolded it. "I'm going to read a Muggle poem, which I think she would agree with."

**"Do not stand on my grave and weep;  
I am not there. I do not sleep."**

_Eva, tossing and turning as the nightmares took her._

**"I am a thousand winds that blow.  
I am the diamond glints on snow."**

_That first snowball fight, the only time in her first year when she really let down her guard._

**"I am the sunlight on ripened grain.  
I am the gentle autumn's rain."**

_The story she had told her friends, where she had let herself be soaked by the rain, delighted by the novelty of it. _

**"When you awaken in the morning's hush,  
I am the swift uplifting rush"**

_As far as those who had lived knew, she'd never had the chance to fly. Nobody had ever thought to take her on a broom or a Thestral. But she had, she had had that last, thrilling, fatal outing. _

**"Of quiet birds in the circled flight.  
I am the stars that shine at night."**

_At least she'd seen those. Luna and Eva had stargazed and cloud-spotted to their heart's content last summer._

**"Do not stand at my grave and cry;  
I am not there. I did not die."**

But they were all breaking the poem's instruction, Hermione included. Ginny's eyes were still red with crying. Great silver tears rolled from Luna's silver eyes. Hermione had sniffed throughout the whole ceremony. Even the unseen onlooker, hidden by his Disillusionment Charm, let a few, uncharacteristic, silent tears fall.

Her voice no longer working, Hermione, too, stepped to the side. However, Luna didn't walk forward to take centre stage. Instead she stood, pensive and gazing into the distance.

"I'm not a Malfoy," she eventually began, "although I did spend rather a long time at their home recently. So I'm not Eva's nearest family member. I probably am related…" she frowned slightly in concentration. "Third cousins twice removed, I think. On my mother's side."

"I'd have liked to have her as a sister, though. She stayed at my house last summer, and it was the most fun I've ever had. I hope she enjoyed it too, and that she preferred it to her other summers. We talked quite a lot too, and then we talked more when we were at her old house. I don't think she liked it there very much. It had lots of bad memories for her, but we ignored that by talking like we were lying in the patch of daisies we found last summer. We played games too. Not I-Spy, that got repetitive quite quickly." Her face bore a slightly surprised expression, as if the idea of the idea of running out of I-Spy objects in a twelve foot dungeon was odd in the extreme."

"But we mainly talked. A bit about her past, a bit about her future. Like Ginny said, she was good at Healing, but she didn't plan on making a career out of it. Not that she didn't enjoy it, but she didn't expect to live. I expect it was the dungeon, it put her in a very pessimistic mood. She didn't think we'd get out alive, so she wasn't really talking much about what she would do. More what she would have done, what she was glad she had done. We talked a bit about what we'd like to come next."

"I agree with Hermione." A few of the onlookers blinked, surprised by this apparent change of topic. But Luna wasn't done. "She would have liked that poem. She didn't get to see enough of the world when she was alive, so she liked being outside quite a lot. Even on cold days, she would want to walk out in the grounds. We visited the Thestrals very often. She would have liked flying on them, I think. She liked them just as they were though."

"Once we escaped from the Manor, she stayed outside even more. She was very relieved that she hadn't died. She said she wouldn't take it for granted again. So I think she'd like the idea of being part of it all." Luna bent down and picked up a flower, twirling it absently between her fingers. "Part of every flower," she mused. "Free to go where she wanted. I think she'd like that."

It took a few seconds before people were sure that she had finished. Once they were though, Hermione and Ginny moved into a triangular position behind Luna, who tucked the flower behind her ear, and drew her wand. Pointing their wands to the sky, the three of them chanted together,

_"Fire of family, friend and love_

_Fly to Eva as the brightest dove_

_Take our hearts, our love, our care_

_And help us until we join her there,"_

Out of the tips of the three wands shot a jet of coloured flame, silver from Luna, red from Ginny and purple from Hermione. They twined together, before reshaping into the form of a fiery dove. The bird flew up into the sky, dwindling in their sight as it travelled higher until it vanished entirely.

**

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**

**What do you think of the funeral?**

**Obviously different to Dumbledore's, but I thought that memorial services might be. **

**And I wanted to give the three girls the chance to talk about her.**

**Please review!**

**x**


	59. Chapter 59

**By the way, I'm going to make a double disclaimer this chapter - one just to say again that I'm not JK Rowling, and therefore do not own Harry Potter and his world. The one character I did own - she passed away. Since I haven't said it since the beginning and all. Anyway, the other disclaimer is to say that I didn't write the poem which Hermione read out at Eva's memorial service. Shame, since I love it, but it was in fact written by Mary Frye, and is now public property.**

**Thank you if you've read this far, but I would like to make a special request of you - I really, really like round numbers. And I really, really want to get above 1000 reviews for this story. But with two chapters left, the only way I can make that is if everyone who is reading this, who has Story Alerted it, reviews both of these chapters. You don't even have to be a member of , I don't need to know your name. Just press the review button, then okay, and your work is done. **

**Please! I want that number, and it's not much of a commitment. Pretty, pretty please? With ice cream on top?**

**Having said that, thank you to those who have been reviewing all this way, and last chapter to - Lions&Wolves, cyiusblack, ShadowMoonDancer, Jarka, iluvwriting, h1001babo, Madeline Cullen, gogguli, Jaddabeanx, AbiCullen, Someone aka Me, susiipie, vanillabean18, attyfan, Boo81393, rose-by-another-name, E.S. Everest, PrincessSophie21, i eat slytherins for breakfast, awaylaughingonafastcamel, Little Miss Writerz, Likewow5556, carcar3, notwolf and Arlath's Daughter. **

**And particularly Moromu, who went back and reviewed any chapters that they hadn't reviewed to help me make that 1000 review figure! An absolutely massive, triple-layer chocolate and vanilla iced cake! With cherries on! Thank you! **

**Previously: Eva's memorial service took place, where Ginny, Hermione and Luna all made speeches. And amongst the listeners was a figure under a Disillusionment Charm...**

* * *

As the memorial service ended, and those who had gathered began to depart, the three witches remained for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Then Hermione spoke.

"You can come out now."

For a long time, nothing happened. Then there was a mutter and a figure appeared from thin air.

Draco Malfoy scowled. "How did you know I was there?" he asked.

"There were no animal sounds in that area, so someone had to be stood there. I know that Eva learned her proficiency in Disillusionment Charms from you. And not many people would have come here secretly."

Ginny rolled her eyes at Hermione, rational even when she was as distraught as she had been throughout the memorial.

Luna looked at him. "I expected you'd come. You loved Eva."

"Showed it well, didn't I?" he spat.

"She knew." Luna said calmly.

"She didn't. She hated me, for what I was and for what I was doing. She couldn't even bear to take help from me at when you were imprisoned."

"She was hurt, Malfoy," Hermione sighed. "You hurt her when you didn't say what you were up to."

"She would have trusted you with anything," Luna agreed. "But you didn't let her in at all, and that hurt her pride."

When it was delivered in Luna's placid tones, this all sounded so obvious.

Her silvery eyes watched Draco sympathetically. "She'd be glad that you were here. She'd be glad that you lived."

He looked away. "I wish I hadn't." He said suddenly. "I wish I'd died, and she'd lived."

Ginny, her anger at Malfoy still strong, glared at him. "So do a lot of people," she agreed heatedly. "That won't bring her back. Why don't you do something more productive to help than wish?"

He looked back at her. "Who would let me do anything? Who would let me near the victims? They'll expect me to murder them in their sleep."

"Wouldn't you?" Ginny remarked acidly.

"No!" he snapped. "No more than you would."

"I still don't understand why you're not in Azkaban," Ginny muttered.

He dropped his eyes. "Neither do I," he admitted.

Hermione did know why, and she knew that Luna did too - they'd both been rescued by Malfoy from that dungeon.

_'Looks like Harry_ still _hasn't got around to completely catching up with Ginny yet,'_ the brunette mused, then smiled inwardly. '_Maybe they've had better things to talk about than Malfoy,'_ she added. '_Of course, maybe Ginny and Luna have more of a reason to hate him than I do now. After all, I still haven't found out_ exactly _what went on at Hogwarts this year, but it doesn't look good. Neville wasn't the only person with scars. I barely recognised Michael Corner, or Seamus.'_

She was brought back to the conversation by Luna, of all people, intervening in Ginny and Draco's argument. "What about the Forest?" she asked. "Lots of animals were hurt in the Battle."

Draco shuddered. He'd been afraid of the forest since that trip in first year, and subsequent Care of Magical Creatures lessons had hardly alleviated that. Hermione, noticing the shudder and remembering his fears, nodded.

"If you want to help, you should do that. It'll keep you out of the way of the other relief workers, who might not be glad to see you." She didn't want him to have it _too_ easy. Helping in the Forest might be good for him.

He muttered something inaudible.

"What was that?" Ginny asked coldly.

"I said, fine!" he retorted. "Happy?"

The redhead blinked. She hadn't expected him to agree.

* * *

But he did, and he did go to help too. At least, according to Luna and Hagrid, who had also chosen the Forest as their area of help. Ginny, on the other hand, was working with Hermione, in the castle.

A lot of Hogwarts students were, so it wasn't a surprise when she saw Dennis Creevey walking past. What was unusual, though, was the happy look on his face. Once as excitable as the young Colin, he had been very morose in the last few days – not exactly a surprise to anyone who had known him.

"Hey, Dennis." She greeted him, planning on saying something meaningful about Colin's untimely death, or to ask how his parents had taken the news. But he stopped her before she could start.

"Ginny! I was looking for you." He reached into his robe pocket, and pulled out a leather book, thrusting it in Ginny's face. It was bound in red, with gold embroidered all over it in lion and phoenix shapes.

She blinked and took it from him, frowning.

"What's that?" Hermione asked curiously, looking at the book.

"Dunno," Ginny replied, turning the cover to open it. Dennis just watched silently, eager with anticipation.

"Merlin's beard," Hermione breathed, staring at the first page of the book – it was a photo album."Whose are those?"

"Colin's," Dennis replied. "He had a load of films in his trunk, plus the one in his camera. I guess he didn't get chance to develop them, so I developed them - he showed me how to do it the wizarding way a couple of years ago. And he had this album, all wrapped in ribbon." He frowned. "It seemed really well used, like he'd held it a lot. But there weren't any pictures in it. So I filled it up."

The two girls leafed through the pictures, as familiar faces waved up at them. The first one, most recent, was of most of Dumbledore's Army gathered in the Room of Requirement only days before the battle. Seeing all those faces was painful – Lavender Brown, who would never look the same again. Ginny, unaware of the family she was about to lose. And Colin himself, racing away from the camera to be in the photo.

Flipping backwards was an odd experience. Tension lines vanished from faces and the people morphed with unsettling speed from adults to children. They only went back as far as Hermione's fifth year, and the DA with Umbridge, but the difference was shocking. Even though everyone was smiling in both pictures, there were differences. Leaner, stronger bodies. Half-healed scars. Wands always within grabbing reach. Despite their safety, everyone's body language was that of a tense readiness, while the fifth-year DA looked like a homework group.

Group pictures weren't the only ones. Colin had captured Neville, giving speeches to the group as they listened, rapt with attention even in the moving picture. Students duelling ferociously, exchanging spells in a pattern that would repeat for as long as the photo lasted. There were lots of Hagrid's 'Support Harry Potter' party, and Hermione laughed at the decorations that she hadn't seen before, and which Dobby had no doubt had a hand in.

But as if he were documenting evidence against the Carrows, Colin had somehow managed to use his camera outside the Room of Requirement. There were several pictures of various students writhing under the Cruciatus, or being forced to do unspeakable things under the Imperius. He had taken pictures of the wide range of injuries that they had caused, the bruises from knocking into tables, the cuts, the burns.

And it was suddenly obvious that they had crossed over into the pre-Christmas photos. Not only did the cuts seem to get less severe, but the cause for this appeared. Eva was in so many of the photos, brewing Blood-Replenishing or Rilassare Potions, healing broken bones and other wounds.

That wasn't what made Hermione gasp in realisation though. From these pictures, it was obvious. Whether he had captured Eva paying attention, grinning and rolling her eyes at the camera, or wrapped up in her own work, holding an arm gently as she waved her wand over it, poring desperately over a Defense book, being knocked over by the silver wolf that Ginny recognised as Eva's original Patronus, standing up to the Carrows – it wasn't just the sheer quantity of the photos, but the way they were taken. So many when Eva wasn't looking, and all of them somehow capturing the emotions that the photographer had felt.

Even when they went back to the previous year, this was apparent. From Easter, at least, there were photos of her. As many as he would have had of Harry, once. Eva in the snowball fight, Eva wandering outside in the wind, Eva studying in the library, Eva relaxing by the lake, Eva recovering after the battle, Eva looking lonely and unhappy at Dumbledore's funeral.

"He loved her," Hermione whispered in shock. She stared at Ginny. "Did you know?"

The redhead shook her head, then frowned uncertainly. "He was more upset than any of us when she was taken, I guess. But he was her friend, I didn't realise it went deeper than that. He never had a girlfriend though, even though a few would have been interested. A lot of us assumed…well, he _was _obsessed with Harry."

"We're as bad as Ron," Hermione muttered. "How could we have missed it? Do you think it was returned? Did Eva like Colin?"

A voice spoke behind them, startling them both. "She did."

The pair of them spun, almost guiltily. Luna was standing there, barefoot, with a few tangled roots in her hair and mud streaking one of her cheeks. She continued, oblivious to this. "She told me, when we were at the Manor. She hid it very well. I expect it was her Malfoy upbringing."

"Did she know that Colin liked her?" Ginny asked.

Luna looked thoughtful, although that was quite common for her. "I don't think so. I expect she would have done something if she did. But she was very scared of rejection, so she didn't do anything, not even after we came back."

"Why didn't we notice?" Ginny groaned. "We could have got them together, then at least they'd have had something before they died."

"At least they both died," Luna said happily. Both of the other girls turned to stare at her. "Imagine if they'd had to live when the other one was dead, and they'd never said anything."

"She's right," Hermione agreed. "It's better like this."

Ginny sighed. "I know. I just wish-"

Luna stopped her. "Wishing won't do much, like you said in your speech. Not unless you do it on a Gellynet."

Ginny smiled weakly. "You're right. That's exactly what I said in my speech. I remember using the word Gellynet." She shook her head. "I'm glad some things don't change, Luna. Don't ever turn normal."

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**I know I said that wishing doesn't do much, but I'm wishing that I make my review goal. Please, everyone just leave a teensy little review. One word, or two. **

**I can always wish that wishing works!**

**x**


	60. Chapter 60

**Sorry that this chapter took so long - it was ready on Sunday, but fanfiction wouldn't let me login until now! Aargh!

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**

No! The last chapter! I didn't want to reach this, I'm going to miss writing this story, and all of you amazing readers and reviewers so much!

**Thank you a million times if you reviewed last chapter! I made my goal! Already! I am actually delirious with happiness, and it's all thanks to :Madeline Cullen, Moromu, Arthur (:D), Jokegirl, MargoB, .AwwLookTheSkyIsCrying, h1001babo, PrincessSophie21, Jarka, awaylaughingonafastcamel, Likewow5556, Boo81393, Jaddabeanx, HopeCoppice, gogguli, The Breeze, attyfan, iluvwriting, sisteralways0894, Hayley's Happening, i eat slytherins for breakfast, Sierra Sapphire, jason'sbella, rose-by-another-name, vanillabean18, Ready Fredie, Someone aka Me, E.S. Everest, bsblover17, susiipie, AbiCullen, Little Mizz Writerz, ctc, Arlath's Daughter and notwolf!**

**More details of special thanks (particularly those amazing people who went above and beyond and reviewed lots and lots of chapters) and Author Notes below, as well as future stories if anyone would be interested in offering their opinion.**

**Previously: The War? An entire story? Eva was born, lived and died. Fine, I suppose that last chapter, she was buried, and Draco began to help with the restoral of Hogwarts**

**(My last Previously! *sob*)**

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**10 Years Later**

No matter where they were, everyone came back to Hogwarts on this day. It was like another Christmas, a time to be with family and to celebrate. But it was also a time to mourn, which was why Luna and Ginny were standing in a little cemetery.

It had been hard to decide where to bury Eva. Most of the wizarding dead had been taken to family cemeteries, but the Malfoy plot was out of the question. In the end, they had chosen a little Muggle graveyard in Lancashire. There was only one reason for this – the Creevey family lived nearby, and they had chosen to have their son buried there. Eva had missed out in life on most of what a witch was supposed to experience, but by placing her near Colin in death, they hoped Colin and Eva would be together.

Hermione normally came, but she first had to attend the preparations for the feast at Hogwarts, check that everything was going right with the House-elves – as the new Head of the Department for Support of Magical Beings, she liaised with a number of different magical species and had been instrumental in securing new rights for elves, including a law that they all wore clean and dignified uniforms.

Mind you, as Luna pointed out, there _were _three of them there. That is, if you counted the eight-month baby in Ginny's stomach. Luna was the same as ever, spending her time travelling around the world, searching for 'rare' creatures.

Now, of course, she wasn't alone. Whilst travelling, she had met Rolf Scamander, a descendant of _the _Newt Scamander. Their relationship started through a multitude of debates over the existence of various magical creatures. And three years, several countries and thousands of fantastic beasts later, Rolf proposed.

"Thanks for the beautiful weather, Eva." Luna softly said to the gravestone, which was simply engraved with

_Eva Malfoy_

_Born 1978. Died 1998._

_Aged 16_ or so

_Friend, Sister, Gryffindor_

"Is it a girl or a boy?" she asked, still gazing at the grave.

No longer startled by Luna's odd conversation twists, Ginny smiled. "I don't know. I didn't want to find out. It'd be nice to have a daughter, but I'm not holding my breath. Mum had to wait through six sons before she got a girl."

"It could be twins, one of each."

"That'd be nice. And stressful, especially if they took after their uncles. James is bad enough, and there's only one of him."

"What are you going to call them?"

"Remus Ronald if it's a boy. And we were thinking that if it's a girl, Lily Luna?"

Beaming, Luna turned to look at her. "Lily Luna," she repeated happily.

"Of course," Ginny sighed, "I want to name one after Eva, but I couldn't resist the alliteration. Not to mention the fact that Draco Malfoy called his daughter Eva. And we can't have a Potter and a Malfoy with the same name! "

Draco had worked hard to restore his family's name, and Harry's public support of him, and defence of both him and his mother at their trials, saying that both had saved his life, had helped. The Malfoys were still mistrusted, but they had at least stayed out of Azkaban, and had kept their property and money. Draco had married a Ravenclaw who had given birth to one son and one daughter - named Scorpius Hyperion and Evelna Carina.

But Harry and he were not friends - which could have had a lot to do with Ron, who still disliked the man.

"So that's the only reason you chose Luna," the blonde woman smiled.

"No, I-" Ginny sighed. "You're still good at that."

"I know," Luna laughed softly. Then, suddenly serious, she said "Eva wouldn't have wanted you to call a child after her."

"Why not?" Ginny asked, surprised.

"She hated her name. At least, the full version of it. Evelna." Luna pronounced it with wistfulness in her voice. "It means, female devil."

Ginny growled angrily. "As if it wasn't enough what he did to her, Lucius had to give her a name that reminded her of it constantly."

"He ended up worst off in the end," Luna pointed out, staring ahead at the trees.

Indeed he had. Months after the Final Battle, whilst the new Ministry were sorting things out and deciding whether to prosecute, he had been diagnosed with Selwyn's Sclerosis, a form of the disease that existed in the Muggle world. Like there, you lost the ability to move and eventually to think. But first you lost your magic, something that must have been torture for a proud pure-blood for Lucius Malfoy. For five years he had lingered on, though he had lost the abilities to walk and talk after only two and his magic had been gone within the first year. At last he had died, soon followed by Narcissa, who had been miserable for the last few years of her life, caring for an increasingly infirm husband.

"At least Eva's still free to move."

"She's completely free now," Ginny agreed.

And Luna recited the final line on Eva's grave. "Freedom is the last, best experience of earth."

THE END

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**Particularly awaylaughingona fastcamel, Moromu, Jokegirl and Madeline Cullen for reviewing multiple times!**

**PrincessSophie21 - for giving such constructive criticism.**

**notwolf - for writing an amazing story, for messaging me with so much interesting stuff about how you saw the HP characters, and for recommending First-Born Child on it**

**Moromu - for encouraging me through messenging and for introducing me to Arthur (and for giving him a chance to review)**

**Arlath's Daughter - for being my best friend x**

**And also Margob , who I couldn't reply to - thanks for your lovely review, and I'm proud to be the first story you've reviewed! Mmm,, thanks for the cookies and fudge sauce!**

**If anyone is still reading this Author Note, I'd like your opinions on my next story. As ever, the problem isn't a shortage of ideas, but a shortage of time to write them in. So choices for which you'd like to see first would be welcomed:**

**A Next Generation fanfiction - I have so many ideas for Next Generation ones, that I can't write them all down. Suffice it to say that they would involve canon children, and maybe a few non-canon ones. And Creevey descendants! **

**OR**

**A non Harry Potter fiction - fandoms for this range from Tamora Pierce to the Dark is Rising sequence.**

**OR**

**A continuation of this, which would say more about Draco's further rehabiliation and his meeting of his future wife. **

**Let me know, anyone! **

**Thank you for reading! Really, really thank you! **


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